Immortality Relapse
by Parsec
Summary: [Sequel to "Immortality Syndrome", read it first!  Warning: contains graphic violence!]  Only a week after the horrific events in Townsville had passed, Bubbles must face a new threat...
1. Chapter 1

[Two warnings.  First, this is a sequel to one of my other fanfics, "Immortality Syndrome".  It is vital that you read I.S. first, or else you won't know what's going on in this one.  Secondly, as was the case with I.S., this fic contains a lot of graphic violence and blood, and includes the death of some major characters.  If this bothers you, don't read!  But then, if it bothered you, you wouldn't have read I.S. either, and so you shouldn't be reading this in the _first_ place.  Ok, warning over…so that said, enjoy!]

Immortality Relapse By:  Mark J. Hadley 

*        *          *

CHAPTER 1 

            _Bubbles gripped her chest tightly…the pain shot through her like a burning iron spike and wouldn't stop.  It was so intense that it made her vision seem red and blurry, and she could barely see through it, but she could still see her surroundings.  She was floating in the middle of nowhere, a fiery sky all around her, like lava, burning like the pain that she felt.  The brightness of it stabbed through to the back of her eyes, and she couldn't take it anymore.  Yet, she seemed oddly distanced from it all…like it wasn't really happening…_

_            Everything slowly started to recede, and she saw something else amongst the bright 'sky'…a dark shape was forming, a small patch of black with no light whatsoever.  It grew steadily, until she saw that everything around it was being drawn towards it, like a swirling vortex.  The fires in the sky streaked across, drawn into the void and vanishing, as it grew larger and larger, until it seemed to fill the sky._

_            Her pain diminished even further, and she knew that this was the final release from her suffering.  It was Death…of that she was certain.  It had come for her, and as the fires of her pain were drawn into it, she felt herself being drawn in as well.  Despite the relief from the pain it offered her, she was afraid, and didn't want to go…she turned and started to fly away._

            But no, she couldn't!  Its pull was too strong, like a powerful vaccum, and it was growing bigger and stronger by the moment.  She panicked and tried everything to escape…she could feel that it was doing no good, that she kept getting even closer to it, towards that awful nothingness…she screamed for help, but there was none, not anymore.

            It finally enveloped her.  It was all over…she couldn't do anything…not move, not breathe, not think…nothing.  All she remembered was the pain she had felt before.  She almost felt happy that she would never have to feel the pain again.  But she also felt sorrow in that instant…sorrow to everything else in life, that it would have to endure that suffering, where she was free from it at last.  All life existed only for this suffering…of that, there was no doubt in her mind now.  If only she could show that to everything…but that was impossible now.  Afraid as she was, she stopped struggling and gave into the darkness at last…

*          *            *

            Bubbles awoke with a gasp, sweating heavily and clutching the bedsheets to her chest.  As she regained her bearings, looking out into the darkness, she realized she was dreaming again.  She put a hand over her chest and tried to calm herself back down.  She felt her heart pounding, and took some comfort in that…it was the ultimate sign to her that she was still alive.

            A hand reached out from the darkness next to her and ran through her hair consolingly.  It belonged to the professor, who was seated next to the bed in a chair.  He softly said, "Shh…it's all right, Bubbles.  You were dreaming again.  Everything is just fine."

            "Thank you, Professor," she whispered, settling her head back down on the pillow.  She turned her head slightly and looked at the bed next to her.  The spots that Blossom and Buttercup usually occupied were still empty…each time after waking from her dream, she had a dim hope that maybe perhaps the whole _thing_ would have been a dream, that it had never happened.  That was never the case, though…she felt the sadness all over each time, as she was forced with the truth, that she would never see her sisters again.

            It was a whole week since the incident, and this dream plagued her every night.  Memories of Death…memories of what had happened to her.  Memories that she wished she could get rid of, but couldn't push them out of her mind.  At least the professor was still there, by her side.  He stayed with her every night so far, to ease her when she woke.  The depths to which he cared for her was comforting in itself.  It made her happy just to know he was there.

            She slowly closed her eyes, and said, "G'night, Professor…thank you…"  She saw him smile just before her eyes closed, and as she drifted back to sleep, she smiled as well.  At least one thought always reassured her: the nightmare was over, for good…

*          *            *

            The City of Townsville…that very same night, in Townsville Park, everything was quiet.  After the terrible events from a week ago, the park was still in bad condition: burnt trees and grass covered the small piece of landscape, and a large crater was near Townsville Volcano Mountain where an explosion had obviously taken place.  Because of the state of the park, no one visited it even during the day, except for cleanup crews.  Now that it was night, all was still, and there was not a soul to be found.

            The silence was broken by a brief rumbling sound coming from the ground.  In a small eruption of dirt and soil, a hole opened up from the ground, and a lone figure emerged.  Placing aside the crude drill he had constructed, he stretched his arms out, as though happy to be free at last.  He glanced at the prison uniform he wore, grimy from the dirt he had just tunneled through, and grunted to himself.  He decided he needed a change of clothing, and luckily, his home was nearby.

            Without further ado, Mojo Jojo hurried up the steps alongside the volcano, to the observatory that sat above it.  As he swung open the door, though, his eyes widened in shock.  The place was a mess…a large hole had been carefully cut in one side, and most of his equipment was missing.  Actually, he noted that a lot of his scientific equipment still remained, but his entire arsenal of weaponry had been stolen.

            "What?!  Who would dare steal from the lair of Mojo Jojo?" he growled.  "If I find out who has done this, they will pay dearly for their transgressions!  But for now, I must attend to a change of attire…"

He headed into the back room, removing his prison garb and taking one of his spare outfits from his closet.  As he changed, he examined the bandages secured around his chest, head, and arms…he was still sore from his injuries, but they had otherwise healed, so he removed the bandages as well before completing his costume.

            _A week in intensive care,_ he thought.  _Never before had the Powerpuff Girls injured me quite to that level…well, it was worth it, for I remember the outcome of my actions.  _He grinned to himself.  That was one thing that had given him solace all throughout his recovery: that he had finally defeated one of the Powerpuffs for good, and that there was no hope of _their_ recovery either.  Blossom lay dead, while Mojo remained very much alive, and he was now confident that he could do the same to the other two.

            As he finished putting on his helmet, he narrowed his eyes gleefully.  _If only I could have had access to the news programming on television during my recovery period,_ he thought.  _To see the city's fearful reaction to the death of one of their beloved heroes, that would have been priceless._  This suddenly led him to another thought: _Perhaps this fact is still on the news.  The death of a Powerpuff Girl is not something those accursed people would have taken lightly…_

            He strode back into the other room and clicked on his television, still thankfully present and not stolen like his other equipment.  He was often appreciative of one of Townsville's TV stations, which replayed news events from earlier in the day during the late hours of the night.  Such a broadcast was now being replayed, and he sat down in a chair to watch.

            Stanley Whitfield was shown standing before the charred remains of Townsville Park as he spoke, "…and as people are still recovering from the horrific tragedy of last week…"  Mojo grinned to himself and thought, _Ah, yes…Blossom's demise, of course!  I was correct…_

            The camera panned past more images of the park, and of people uprooting burned trees to make room for the planting of new ones eventually.  Whitfield's voice continued, "…the cleanup crews are working to restore Townsville Park to its former condition.  Meanwhile, citizens everywhere continue to grieve over those who were lost, and although many have accepted Professor Utonium's and Powerpuff Girl Bubbles' account of what had occurred, they still mourn, yet they also continue to give Bubbles their heartfelt condolences for the loss of her sisters, Blossom and Buttercup, whose part in the tragedy was described as 'misguided'…"

            Mojo gasped at this latest piece of news.  _Loss of sisters, plural? _he thought.  _Something has happened to Buttercup as well?  Perhaps the injury to her arm that she had taken proved fatal through mistreatment or infection…_

His smile broadened evilly, and he steepled his fingers in front of him in thought, "Perfect…now is my chance to strike," he said to himself.  "With only one Powerpuff Girl remaining, I cannot be stopped…I will take my rightful place as ruler of Townsville, and then the _world!_"

He shut off the TV and got up, pacing slowly around the room, "I must not squander this opportunity.  Bubbles will still be grieving for her sisters, and she might make a mistake.  The plan I will concoct must be so diabolical that it is certain to work, so that there is zero chance of _her_ survival as well, and thus she will fail and I will succeed!  But what…what to do…"

            He froze in mid-pace, as a sudden idea came to him.  He clasped his hands and said, "Of course!  Why did I not think of this sooner?  The perfect plan…and I can begin to put the plan into motion tonight!  Rest well this evening, Bubbles, for your downfall is tomorrow!"  He threw back his head and cackled evilly, the laughs echoing out of his lair and across the park…

*          *            *

            Townsville police station was quiet this evening, almost as quiet as the park.  A few of the night beat cops had just checked in, and had nothing to report.  Not a single crime was reported, and the mood was relaxed in the station.  So relaxed were they, that they didn't notice Mojo, who was sneaking up stealthfully to the building, unseen in the shadows.

            He stopped against the side of the station, peering in each direction at the different entrances/exits…they were all well guarded, but none could see him from this position.  Decided that he had to make his own entrance, he pulled a small, palm-sized laser from his belt and started to cut a hole in the brick of the building.  It was silent, save for a slight high-pitched whine from the laser itself, yet he still cast glances back at the edges of the building, in case anyone would happen by and notice him.

            Mojo made it through the wall with little difficulty, and slid the large section of brick out from the building carefully, so as not to topple it over and make any noise.  He slipped in through the opening.  As he expected, it opened up to a back hall of the station, right next to the room he was looking for.  The door to this particular room was locked, but a quick zap of the laser broke the lock off.  He swung the door open without further ado.

As the light filtered into the sizeable room, he gazed up at the shelves that lined the walls…tons of items, from weapons to other random implements, were all carefully indexed and tagged.  It was all the police evidence that had been collected from the criminals of Townsville, a rather large collection.  Examining the shelves, Mojo knew he would find what he was looking for here.  Eventually he came to it…a box, labeled with his name and a date.  He lifted the box open, and his grin grew wider as he laid eyes on its contents.

"Yesssss…" he whispered softly.  "Now _nothing_ can stop me…where this plan had failed once _before_, there is now only _one_ Powerpuff Girl left to face it…and _one_ has no hope of defeating _three_…"  He laughed very softly, so as not to be heard, and lifted out one of the three plastic evidence bags from the box, holding it up to the light to view its contents: snips, snails, and a puppy dog tail…

*          *            *

            The following day was Monday…at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten, Bubbles flew quietly into the room, and her classmates turned to watch her enter.  She felt the strange stares from them, a mixture of compassion and maybe a little fear.  She could hardly blame them…all last week, she had been excused from school, so that she could help deal with the aftermath of the crisis, and this was the first time her classmates really saw her since then.  Not many of them knew what exactly had happened—their parents didn't want to expose children so young to those kinds of details—but they knew it was something terrible.

            Bubbles hesitated at the door.  The whole room was quiet, and Miss Keane spoke up calmly, breaking the silence, "Bubbles…thank you for joining us once again.  Are you feeling all right?"

            "I'm…fine, Miss Keane," Bubbles said.

            Miss Keane was aware of what had happened before and didn't want to press the matter any further, so she simply said, "Please, take your seat, and we can get started…"  Bubbles nodded, and hovered towards the desk where she usually sat.  All the kids' gazes followed her as she crossed the room…she felt a little conspicuous, but didn't say anything.

            As she came to her desk, she stopped before she reached it.  She stared at the three chairs that were behind it and bit her lip, holding back tears.  When she finally found her voice, she said, "M…Miss Keane?  Can I sit someplace else?"

            "Of course," Miss Keane replied, fully understanding.  "Go ahead."

            Bubbles nodded a thank-you and looked around the class, looking for an empty seat.  She spotted one next to Mary, so she flew over and landed in the chair.  Miss Keane cleared her throat and decided to start teaching to alleviate the uncomfortable silence that still hung in the room.

            As she did, Mary looked at Bubbles and whispered, "Bubbles…what happened?"

            "I…" Bubbles began, then closed her eyes.  "I don't…want to talk about it…"

            "Are they coming back?" Mary asked.  Bubbles knew she meant her sisters, and she opened her eyes, looking back at her sadly.  She didn't say anything, but Mary understood just the same.  Still whispering, she said in a broken voice, "I'm s-so sorry…"

            "Don't be," Bubbles said, fidgeting a little.  "I'm okay, really…"

            Mary reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, "Listen…if you feel like talking sometime, I'll listen…okay?"

            Bubbles sniffed and smiled, "Okay…"  Mary smiled back, and then both of them turned their attention back to Miss Keane.  Bubbles wasn't really paying attention to her, though…her thoughts were still elsewhere.

            As the lesson went on, a phone rang from around the corner.  Miss Keane stopped her lesson and said, "Excuse me, I'll be right back, children."  She walked over to where the phone was and picked it up, "Keane speaking."  After a brief pause, she said, "All right, I'll put her on, just a moment."

            She leaned back around the corner and said, "Bubbles?"  Bubbles looked up from her desk in surprise, and she continued, "You have a phone call…"

Curiously, Bubbles flew over, joining Miss Keane and picked up the receiver, saying, "Hello?"

            Professor Utonium's voice came from the line, "Bubbles…I need your help for a minute, it's important.  Can you fly over here right away?"

            "But I'm in the middle of class…"

            "It's all right, sweetie," the professor said.  "I'll explain everything to your teacher later."

            "Okay, I'll be right there!"  Bubbles quickly hung up the phone, and turned to the confused Miss Keane, telling her, "I hafta go, it's an emergency…I'll be back as soon as possible!"  Without waiting for a reply, she flew from the room quickly and out the front door.  Miss Keane watched her leave and thought, _She's been through so much…and now she's the only one left to handle any crisis that arises…I hope she can handle it; it's so much responsibility for one little girl…_

*          *            *

            Bubbles found the professor down in his lab…he was going through a pile of equipment.  "What is it, Professor?" she asked.

            "Bubbles, thank goodness you're here," the professor replied.  He set down the junk he was going through and said, "Can you use your x-ray vision and look around my lab?  I'm trying to find something, but I can't…"

            "Sure," she said, scratching her head, "but what am I looking for?"

            "Any flasks or beakers containing Chemical X," he said, motioning towards the supply he had on the table next to him.  "We're missing some, and I wanted to be absolutely positive that it's not just lost somewhere in the lab…"

            Bubbles blinked, "Missing?  What about the ones that Bl--…that the girls took?"

            "It's all accounted for," the professor explained, "yet we're still missing a decent amount."

            "Oh," she said.  She narrowed her eyes and gave the room a scan, carefully looking from one corner to the next.  Although she saw many flasks and beakers, none of them contained Chemical X.  "I don't see it, Professor…"

            "Hmm, something's not right," the professor said, scratching his chin.  "You see, I went out to get some groceries just after you left for school, but drove back after I was half-way to the market because I forgot my list.  When I came back, I noticed the front door was unlocked, and that my lab door was open…I thought maybe I had just forgotten to close and lock them in my haste, but then I noticed that some of the Chemical X was missing…"

            "You think someone stole it?" Bubbles asked.

            He nodded, "I'm certain of it, now."

            "But who would _do_ that," she wondered, "and not steal anything else?"

            "I don't know, but Chemical X is dangerous in the wrong hands, so we need to find out soon," the professor told her.  "Who _knows_ what they could be doing with it.  I guess we can't do anything right now though, you had probably better get back to school.  Listen…"  His voice softened, "…how are you holding up today?"

            "I think I'm all right," Bubbles answered, "But…all the other kids, they look like they want to know…and I don't really wanna tell them…"

            "You don't have to," the professor told her.  "Just be strong, okay?  Everything will work out fine in time, you'll see…"

*          *            *

            Mojo had gathered all the necessary items at his lair.  His plan was coming together, and he could hardly wait.  Emptying the contents of the three baggies together into a bowl, he set the baggies aside and picked up the final ingredient, sitting next to it on the table.  He lifted the flask of Chemical X and smiled…it had been so easy to obtain.  Easier than he'd expected, since the Professor left the front door to his house unlocked by accident.  It was child's play to get what he wanted from his lab.

            Now, it was all ready at last…he carefully added a few small drops of Chemical X into the bowl, and quickly retreated to a safe distance.  "Now, arise, my creations," he said aloud, "and live once again!"

            In a bright flash of light, the mixture exploded…Mojo shielded his eyes from the glare and watched carefully.  As the glow faded, his expression changed to one of triumph, as he saw what he had expected to see.  Hovering above the bowl were the Rowdyruff Boys…alive once again, and completely undamaged.

            What he didn't expect, however, was their expressions.  Instead of appearing in their confident pose like the did the first time, they were floating there quietly, their faces showing confusion.  _Ah,_ Mojo thought, _no doubt they are wondering how they managed to survive…_

            The red one, which he remembered was named Brick, said, "Wha…what's going on here?"

            Scratching his head, the green one—Butch—said, "I dunno…where are we?"

            Mojo spoke up, striding forward, "You are in my hideout, boys.  I have restored you to life once again, so that you may enact your revenge on Powerpuff Bubbles for what the Powerpuff Girls did to you!"

            Boomer spoke up, the one in blue, "Who are you?"

            "What?" Mojo said, not understanding.  "I am Mojo Jojo…I am your creator!  You do not recognize your own creator when you see him?"

            Brick looked down with some surprise and said, "Hey…am I floating?  How am I doing that?!"

            "Me too," Boomer said, wavering unsteadily and managing to land on the ground.  Butch landed next to him, and Brick joined them as well.

            Mojo watched the three of them staring around the room with uncomprehending stares, and he lifted the edge of his helmet up slightly, scratching part of his exposed brain underneath.  _Why are they acting this way?_ he thought.  _It makes no sense to me that they should be doing this…unless…_  "Boys, what are your names?" he asked quickly.

            All three of them gave him a blank stare, then glanced at each other, and shrugged.  Snapping his fingers, Mojo said, "Of course!  Amnesia!  Perhaps a latent side effect of your recreation…you have no memory of your past life, as this is a new life, and your recollections would not be carried over from one life to the next, but instead you would begin a new set of memories from which you have no access to your past experiences…"

            "So…" Butch said, "…so…who are we?"

            "You are named Butch," Mojo told him.  Pointing a finger at each of the other two, he said, "You are Brick, and you are Boomer.  Make note of these titles, for they are your identity and are the names by which you are called.  Together, you are known as the Rowdyruff Boys.  I, as previously stated, am called Mojo Jojo, and I am the one who created you…"

            "Ok, got it," Brick said.  "I think.  So…why did you create us?"

            "For one sole purpose, my friends…" Mojo said, spreading his arms out wide to emphasize his point, "…to help me _take over the world!_  And to defeat the ones known as the Powerpuff Girls!"

            "Who are they?" Boomer asked.

            "They were the trio once consisting of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup," Mojo said, "but by my own hand, Blossom lies dead, and by some happenstance which I am unaware of, Buttercup has perished as well.  So now, there is only one Powerpuff Girl left, and you three should have _no_ difficulties in sending Bubbles to _join_ her sisters…they defeated you once before, but now it is three against one!"

            "They…defeated us?" Brick whispered.

            Butch looked even more confused, "How did they do that?"

            "I had often theorized that myself," Mojo said, "and I believe I know the answer.  My substitution for the Chemical X that was required to bring you to life was unstable, and thus, you had a weakness, one that the girls did _not_ have.  They were able to trigger it in you by bringing your worst fears to light…" He grumbled slightly and rolled his eyes…he still couldn't believe how pathetically easy of a flaw it was to exploit.  "…they kissed you."

            The Rowdyruff Boys stood silently.  Brick ran his hand over his cheek for a moment, and thought, _Kissed me?  Eech…that's nasty…if a girl kissed me, I'd…I'd… _ His thoughts trailed off, and he took a sudden sharp intake of breath.  Boomer and Butch both gave similar expressions.  Mojo peered quizzically at them, unaware of what they were thinking…or what they were experiencing…

            Memories flooded back into Brick's mind, as well as the other Rowdyruffs.  They remembered the girls hovering towards them, each of them planting a kiss on their cheek.  They remembered feeling their internal energies becoming unstable from it, and their screams as an almost electrical surge ran through their entire body, every cell overloading with its intensity.  They remembered how it felt, their own energies building to such a high level that their cells literally ripped each other apart in a massive explosion…

            The three of them screamed.  "Huurrgh!" Brick bellowed, grabbing his chest with both hands, stumbling forward…Boomer fell onto his back, twitching and shaking, trying to make the pain stop.

Butch landed on his knees, arching his back and holding his head tightly, "AarrGGH!! Make it _STOP!!_"

            Mojo was concerned…_What is happening to them?!_ he wondered.  He took a step forward, but a moment later, their screams stopped, and they sat still where they were, breathing heavily, and tears rolling down their face.  "Boys…?" Mojo said hesitantly.

            "We…" Brick stammered, "We remember…e-everything…"

            Boomer gazed up at Mojo and added, "We were dead…weren't we?"

            Before Mojo could answer, Butch rose back to his feet, looking upset, "You did this to us…you brought us…back again…"  His rage was gradually building.

            Mojo took an involuntary step backwards and said, "Listen to me…the Powerpuff Girls, they did this to you, you must make _them_ pay for your deaths…"

            "Why?" Butch shouted, ignoring him.  "Why did you bring us back to life?!  _Why?!_"  In a flash of green light, Butch flew directly at Mojo, slamming a fist into his chest and pushing him all the way back against the wall of his lair.  The wind was knocked out of him, and he felt like one or more of his ribs were cracked as well, but he didn't have time to focus on that.  Still with tears coming from his eyes, Butch started pounding him repeatedly, shouting at the top of his lungs, "_WHYYYYYYYY?!_"

            Mojo's helmet was shattered in the first sets of blows, and as Butch's attacks continued to pummel him mercilessly, his injuries grew worse and worse, until he was in as bad a condition as the girls put him in the week before.  But he didn't stop there, and just kept hitting, over and over.  Mojo didn't even have time to realize his error…by the time Butch's attacks had slowed, there wasn't much of him left.  Every bone in his body had been completely shattered, his face was almost completely unrecognizable, and his exposed brain was mashed to a bloodied pulp.

            Butch stood over what was left of Mojo, panting, tears still falling from his face.  Brick looked up at him, and said, "You…you guys remember too…don't you?  Being dead…"

            "Yes…" Boomer said, trying to pull himself together.  "All of it…"

            Butch looked back over his shoulder and said, "Yes…the pain…everything…it was terrible…"

            "This…goes beyond good and evil…" Brick said.  "This is…it's…we…we can't let this continue…does…every living thing suffer this way…when they die?"

            "They have to!" Butch exclaimed.  "I know it…"

            "Me too," Boomer added.  He wiped the tears from his face, his expression fading, "It has to stop.  What good _is_ life, if it just brings about pain?"

            Brick hesitated, then nodded, "Yes…yes, you're right…life _is_ suffering…"

            "And we have to put an end to it…" Butch agreed.  Boomer nodded…they knew what they all must do…_all_ of them knew…and they also knew that they couldn't let anything—or anyone—stand in their way…

**_TO BE CONTINUED…_**


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 

            Bubbles soared high over Townsville, keeping an eye out for trouble during her after-school patrol of the city.  Not that there was anything going on…it seemed like crime was at a virtual standstill for the past week.  The few that _were_ committed were minor, and something that the cops ended up handling easily.  Still, Bubbles took this patrol seriously, as she knew it was only a matter of time before things went back to the way they once were.

            She spotted something below that suddenly confirmed this.  There was a gathering of cops around one side of the police station, examining the wall, which had a hole cut into the side of it.  She quickly descended and landed to get a closer look.

            One of the officers noticed her arrival, and said, "Ah, Bubbles…thank goodness you're here.  We had a break-in last night…"

            Bubbles went up to the edge of the hole and peered inside, asking, "Who did it?"

            "That's what we're trying to figure out," the officer replied.  "They came in through this wall and broke into the evidence storage area.  We're not sure who did it, but we have our suspicions."

            Bubbles examined the edge of the hole carefully.  It appeared to have been cut with a laser, and a accurate one at that.  She was a little surprised at herself…her investigation skills seemed to have gotten a lot stronger, now that she was handling everything herself.  _Who would have a laser like that?_ She thought.  _Well, I know someone, but they're in prison…unless…_

            As Bubbles turned back towards the officer, he had already started to answer the question she was going to ask.  "Last night," he said, "there was also a prison break, so we figured the two events would probably be connected…"

            Bubbles swallowed and guessed, "It was Mojo Jojo, wasn't it?"

            "Yes, that's right," the officer told her.  "Plus, we believe it _was_ something of Mojo's that was stolen from storage.  It came from his pile of confiscated items anyway."

            Bubbles looked back at the hole again and thought, _What are you up to, Mojo?_ she thought…_You break out of prison, then into police evidence to get something…but what?_  Another thought suddenly occurred to her…_I'll bet he stole the Chemical X from the professor this morning!  It had to be!  What are you planning, Mojo?  What could you be trying to…_

            She took a small intake of breath.  Before the other officers could stop her, she flew into the station, and into the evidence lockers, looking quickly over everything.  She found the empty spot where whatever it was had been taken.  She looked quickly over everything else of Mojo's that was in the spot, and thought to herself, _It's gotta still be here…he didn't take what I thought he took…_

            A quick search turned up nothing, though.  The officer that was talking to her before came into the storage area behind her and said, "Bubbles?  What is it?"

            Bubbles said, "Did anyone move any of Mojo's stuff from here?  Anything at all?"

            "No, why?" the officer answered.

            Bubbles paled a little…she thought, _You didn't…Mojo, you idiot!  You didn't!!_  She said, "I've gotta go!" and flew past the officer and back outside as quickly as she could.  The officer watched her go, confused.

            Bubbles took off from the police station, gritting her teeth.  _Mojo doesn't have any idea what he's doing!  If he's did what I think he did…no wait, maybe he hasn't yet!  I can still stop him if I hurry!_  She hurried in the direction of Townsville Park, wasting no time…

*          *            *

            Mojo's hideout looked the same as it had since the week before…the huge gap was still blasted into the side, and she could still see everything in disarray through the hole as she approached.  _He would've fixed it up by now,_ Bubbles thought.  _I wonder why he hasn't…I hope he's not hiding out someplace else!  I won't be able to stop him if I can't find him…_

            She landed at the edge of the gap and gazed around his hideout.  It wasn't hard to see that her suspicions were correct, because where everything had been completely in shambles before, there was now a collection of chemicals and equipment on one of the tables.  She flew directly over to take a closer look.

            Sitting beside a large bowl on the table was a flask of Chemical X.  _I was right,_ she thought.  The presence of the bowl chilled her as well, as she knew its purpose.  But even worse…on the other side of the table was the box from the police station, still labeled, but opened.  Its contents were empty, save for three small, empty plastic bags.

            She hovered back very slowly, gritting her teeth again, and said aloud, "How could you?  Mojo, if I get my hands on you, I'll…"  She stopped, as she suddenly saw something out of the corner of her eye.  Turning her head to look, she saw what it was, and gave off a shriek, covering her mouth in alarm.

            It was Mojo, up against the wall.  At least, she _thought_ it was…she almost couldn't recognize him in the state he was in.  Her breathing quickened, and she stumbled back away from the sight, stopping against the edge of the table and leaning against it, trying to catch her breath.  _Oh my god, _she thought…_He did it…he brought them back to life…he brought back the Rowdyruff Boys…no…_

            "Hello, Bubbles," a voice came from behind her.  She gasped and froze…she knew who it had to be, but she desperately hoped it wasn't.  Turning very slowly, she saw that she was right.  She had never learned their names, since they had never said them during their fight before, but she could never forget what they looked like.  The one that was wearing blue was hovering there, and the other two slowly hovered up next to his side, coming from the back room.

            All she could do was stammer, "Y…you…"

            "Surprised to see us?" the one in red said.  "You killed us, after all.  You and your sisters."  Bubbles' head swam as he spoke.  Their voices were so cold, but even worse, she saw their all-too-familiar expressions on their faces…a heartless gaze she had seen before, a gaze that she wished she could forget, but it was burned too deeply into her memory.

            Worse still, she knew she wouldn't be able to get away…not from three of them.  She fell speechless, and it was the one in green that spoke up.  "How do we kill her, Brick?  She won't be as easy as Mojo was…"

            The red one, undoubtedly 'Brick', answered, "It'll be easy with the three of us, Butch.  It'll just take a while longer, that's all."  He glanced at the blue one and said, "Boomer, you seem quiet, what are you thinking of?"

            "She's like us, isn't she?" Boomer said still not taking her eyes off Bubbles.  "Let's still kill her, but perhaps we can bring her back to life as well…then she'll see what we did…"

            Bubbles finally found her voice…it was shaky, but she still managed to say, "I already have.  I'm _never_ going to be like you…"  This whole situation had rattled her too much, and she suddenly cursed quietly to herself at her error…_Why did I tell them that?  I might have been able to trick them like I did with Blossom and Buttercup…agh, stupid, stupid!_

            She started to back up, but in a flash, all three of them surrounded her.  There was no escpape now.  Butch said, "Sorry, Bubbles, this has to be done.  I know we were evil before, but this is for the good of life…it _has_ to die, or else the misery it spreads will continue…"

            "Yes, _all_ life must die," Boomer added.

            "Therefore, _you_ must die," Brick said.

            They started to close in, and Bubbles knew that if she was going to make it out of this, she had to do it _now_.  With a scream, she threw herself the only direction that wasn't blocked off: down.  Crashing through the floor, she broke her way underneath the observatory in an instant, leaving them behind above her.

            She instantly was assailed by a strong wave of heat.  In her haste, she had almost forgotten that the observatory sat atop a volcano.  Thankfully, she remembered and managed to stop her descent just before plunging into the lava below her.  She was hot down here, but at least she was away from the Rowdyruffs now.  It wouldn't last long, though…they would undoubtedly follow in the next instant, so she had to act fast.

            Without wasting any further time, she flew to the volcano wall and punched it, hard.  Part of it collapsed, opening up an escape route for her, and she flew out from the side quickly.  Behind her, she heard three whooshing sounds and knew that the boys had flown down after her, but she didn't turn around.  Instead, she kept flying away, as far and as fast as possible, getting as much distance as she could between them before they discovered where she had gone to.

            As soon as she was safely away, she ducked into an alley in the city and rested against the wall, catching her breath again.  _Please, god, no…don't let them start trying to kill people, like Blossom and Buttercup did before…I could barely stop those two, how am I going to stop three?!_  She held the sides of her head…_This can't be happening…not again…please, not again…_

            A tiny voice deep inside her seemed to say, _Of course it's happening again…you can't stop it, either.  Life is doomed, just as you know it should be.  Why fight it?  You should be helping them…it's the right thing to do…_

            _No!_ she thought furiously.  _Why would I think that?  Life is good!  No one has the right to decide everyone's fate like that!  I have to find a way to stop them…I can't rest until I do, or everyone will die…_

            She looked out from the alley momentarily just to be sure that the coast was clear.  Staying low to the ground to avoid being seen, she carefully weaved her way through the city, heading back in the direction of home.  She knew that if anyone could help her stop the Rowdyruff Boys, the Professor could…

*          *            *

            The Rowdyruff Boys flew over the city, looking back and forth for Bubbles, but not spotting her.  "She got away," Butch said.  "We should have killed her when we had the chance…"

            "Don't worry," Brick said, coming to a stop.  "She'll be back…and what can she do against the three of us?  She's only one Powerpuff."

            Butch said, "Perhaps, but we should still be careful."  He looked at the slowly setting sun in the distance, "Besides, we have more important things to worry about right now.  We have much to do, and it'll be dark soon."

            "Yes, our task," Brick agreed.  His gaze dropped down towards the city below again, and he spotted something, pointing, "We start there."

            With a nod, Boomer said, "Perfect…" and the three of them flew down together, towards their target below.

*          *            *

            Bubbles burst in through the front door of her house, slamming the door quickly behind her and bracing her back against it, panting.  She hoped she had made it back fast enough for the Rowdyruffs not to spot her.  The professor peeked out from the kitchen and said, "Oh, hello, Bubbles…" then hesitated as he saw her expression, "What's the matter?"

            Bubbles, still shaking a little, said, "P-professor…it…it happened again…"

            "What happened, sweetie?" he said as he walked over to her, concerned.

            "I-I know who took the Chemical X," she explained.  "It was Mojo…he escaped from prison, a-and he…he used it to bring…back…"

            The professor caught on before she finished her statement.  "Oh no…the Rowdyruff Boys?"  Bubbles nodded, and the professor scratched his chin, "Well, maybe the same thing won't happen to them…maybe they'll turn out normal, somehow, since they're different…"

            Bubbles shook her head, "No…no, I already saw them…they're the same, _exactly_ the same…"

            The professor was shocked, "Then we have to convince Mojo to stop th—…"

            "We _can't_," Bubbles interrupted, tears stating to build in her eyes, "It's too late…th-they already…Mojo's gone…"  She still couldn't believe it, when she thought about it.  _He almost deserved it,_ Bubbles thought, _but not like that…nobody deserves an end like that…_

            After a moment's hesitation, the professor quickly turned and started towards the door to his lab.  Bubbles followed close behind him as he spoke, "We haven't much time.  You can stop them, all three of them, if you hurry…"

            "How?" Bubbles asked.

            He headed down the steps of his lab and started going through his chemicals, "They probably don't know that we've got ways to fight them.  I'm going to give you some Antidote X to use against them."

            "I get it," Bubbles said.  "They don't even know Antidote X _exists_…"

            "That's right," he replied, starting to fill a small vial with Antidote X from a larger beaker.  "Oh, also, you'll probably need what's in that locker on the wall over there," he added, nodding his head in its direction.

            Curiously, Bubbles flew over to the locker and opened it.  She held her breath as she saw what was inside: three Duranium swords, the same ones that Blossom had crafted before…the same ones that had caused so much death…the same ones that had even caused her _own_ death…

            She picked one up and examined the blade.  The blood on it had been washed off a long time ago, but she imagined she could still see it there, the blood of dozens of innocent people.  In a way, she felt like that blood was still on her own hands, that she had never been able to wash them clean, for not having protected the people.  She still wish she could have done more, saved more people…

            _You couldn't save them,_ she told herself.  _You shouldn't think things like that.  There was nothing you could have done.  It was going to happen anyway…they were going to die, and there was no reason to stop it…they had to die…_

            She pushed these thoughts out of her head.  _No, focus!  You could have saved them…you're in control!  Just don't make that mistake again.  Stop the Rowdyruff Boys before they can kill anyone else.  Do it for life.  Life is good; always remember that…life is good…_

            She put the sword onto her back and flew over next to the professor.  He held out the vial containing the Antidote X…she took it and tucked it away, then kissed the professor on the side of his cheek, "I'll be back…"

            "Hurry, sweetie," he said as he watched her fly out of the lab, "and be careful."  As soon as she was away, he walked over to another locker and opened it, removing another weapon that he had saved, the one _he_ had built.  He armed it and started loading the tiny robotic Duranium spikes into it.  He had been hesitant to use it before, but now, he had no hesitation about it.  None of the Rowdyruffs must be allowed to survive; he knew that it was the only way to stop them for good…

*          *            *

            Bubbles flew up from the house and back towards Townsville once again.  She set her expression and thought, _They probably aren't at Mojo's anymore.  I just hope to god they haven't decided to attack anyone yet…I hope I'm not too late…_

            At that moment, she thought she caught something off in the distance.  The skies were already starting to become darker as the sun began to set, but something bright was coming from further in the town.  Not a glow, but several flashes of red light.  She didn't know what it was, but she felt cold nonetheless…whatever it was, the boys were probably responsible for it…

            She got closer, and her heart sank as she saw where it was coming from: a football stadium near the outskirts of town.  _Oh no,_ she thought, biting her lip as she realized what it probably was.  Her suspicions were only confirmed as she got closer.  She could tell by the number of cars parked outside that the stadium was packed with people, and the flashes of red were coming from right above it.  _Are those e-eyebeams?  No, no no…not that many people, please!!_

            She reached the stadium, and suddenly breathed out a sigh of relief.  There _was_ a football game tonight, but the flashes of red light she saw wasn't the boys with their eyebeams…they were part of some kind of laser light halftime show.  She stopped by the outskirts of the stadium and just watched for a few moments, thankful that everyone was all right.

            _That was close,_ she thought.  _I'd better get back to looking for the boys, befo--…_

            The stadium suddenly shook with a tremendous rumbling sound, jolting Bubbles back to her senses.  She watched in shock as the entire stadium suddenly ripped clear up from the ground, and that's when she saw them, each at a different edge of the stadium, lifting the entire thing together in a colossal display of strength.  So shocked was she, that she didn't even move…she just hovered there and gaped…

            With a heave, all three of the boys threw the stadium, people and all, to one side.  The entire stadium half-turned over in midair, and Bubbles finally reacted, flying as fast as she could to where they were throwing it.  She overtook it easily, but how could she stop something that big?  She tried anyway, in desperation, catching one wall of the stadium and trying to stop it.

            It did no good…she couldn't stop its fall.  It had completely overturned, and the people fell out into the air, but only for an instant before it smashed into the ground, face-down.  A huge cloud of dust kicked up as the stadium was smashed into nothing more than a huge pile of rubble on the ground.  The boys waited and watched as the dust slowly settled, just to be sure that no one made it out, even though it was pretty evident that no one could have.

            All remained quiet for another minute, and then some of the rubble shifted.  Bubbles burst out from underneath, flying up into the air.  Her teeth were clenched in rage, and she shouted, "_Rowdyruff Boys!!_"

            The boys noticed her approach, and Brick said, "_There_ you are, Bubbles.  We've been looking for you."

            "I should have figured something like this would draw _you_ to _us_," Butch said, folding his arms.

            "Yes," Boomer agreed, "so now, it's time for _you_ to die as well…"

            Bubbles shouted, "No…_no_ one else is dying here…except for _you_ three!"  With that, Bubbles pulled the sword from her back and held it out in front of her.  _At least I already know the Rowdyruff Boys are evil, _she thought.  _Maybe it was hard to bring myself to kill Blossom or Buttercup, but I'm not having _any_ second thoughts this time!_

            Boomer seemed unimpressed, "And just who are you going to hurt with _that?_" he asked, almost like a taunt.

In the next instant, he had his answer, however.  Bubbles flew up to him in a blink of an eye and swung the sword towards his head.  Boomer leaned back in surprised, and the sword grazed his neck instead.  Still, it was deep enough to do the job.  Boomer stumbled back in the air, clutching his throat, as blood poured out over his hands and down his shirt.  The other Rowdyruffs looked at him in shock as he gasped, trying to breathe.  He fell from the sky a second later, landing atop one of the cars in the parking lot below.

            Bubbles took advantage of their distraction to take a swing at one of the others.  Brick saw it coming, though, and dodged quickly, cringing at the near miss.  He quickly decided to gain some distance, as did Butch, and both of them flew down to the parking lot below, landing on the ground.  _At least I got one of them,_ Bubbles thought.  _Now the other two…_

            Butch cast a glace to the roof of the car next to where he was standing, where Boomer was lying, clutching his throat and kicking his legs.  However, Butch didn't have time to do anything to help him, because Bubbles landed in front of him at took another swing.  Diving under the blade, Butch rolled underneath the car to get away.  Brick backpedaled a few steps to gain some more distance.

            Bubbles started towards him, gripping her sword tightly and not taking her eyes off of him.  Brick glanced from side to side, trying to find someplace to escape to, but there was nowhere he could run to before Bubbles could reach him.  Still, his face didn't show any kind of fear, just anger.  He growled, "You don't know what you're doing.  Why are you trying to protect life?  Don't you see that it has to end?"

            She hesitated, then shook her head, saying, "All I see is that you're nothing but evil…I can't let you hurt _anyone_ else…"  She started to raise the sword up, but that's when Butch suddenly appeared, darting out from around one of the cars behind her.  He grabbed Bubbles from behind, holding tightly onto her sword arm to keep her from swinging back.

Yelping in alarm, Bubbles tried to struggle free, but she was held for the moment, and a moment was all that Brick needed.  With a quick blast from his eyebeams, Bubbles' sword was knocked from her hands, and it clattered to the ground nearby.  Butch, still unsmiling and still holding her from behind, said, "Now you're disarmed…do you _still_ think you can stop us?"

            "Y…yes!" Bubbles grunted, quickly slamming her foot down on top of Butch's.  He staggered back from the hit, and Bubbles spun around, pulling her vial of Antidote X and whisking its contents at him in one fluid motion.  As it hit him, Butch cringed and looked at his arms in disbelief as he felt his power slipping away.  Brick also froze momentarily, then backed up further.

            Butch turned to try and flee, but Bubbles darted in front of him before he could, grabbing him by the shirt and lifting him up.  Now, in his current weakened state, it would be child's play for her to finish him off.  _Just a good punch, _she thought, _or a quick twist of his neck…that's all._

            "No, please!" Butch cried out.  "Don't kill me…"

            "_What?!_" Bubbles shouted, her anger building.  "You kill all those people…and then you expect _me_ to show _you_ any kind of mercy?  Don't you have any idea what you've _done?!_"  She nearly shrieked the last words, and she brought her other fist back, shaking with rage.

            "It…it wasn't…my fault…" Butch pleaded, tears starting to build in his eyes.  "_Please…_please don't kill me…I'm begging you…"

            _It's a trick,_ Bubbles' first thought was.  _He'll just wait until your back is turned, and then…_  She stared into his eyes, however, and he saw something there he hadn't seen before.  Fear…if there was one thing she noticed, it was that while they might have feared pain, they didn't fear Death anymore…but he was genuinely afraid.

            The change was so drastic, she almost still thought it was a trick, but something told her otherwise.  Remembering his name, she said, "Butch?"  He looked at her, still with a pleading look in his tear-filled eyes.  _Oh my god_, she thought…_he's…he's okay…I don't know how, but he's okay…_

            She didn't have much time to consider this, however, as she suddenly realized that Brick had flown off.  She looked around, trying to find him, and spotted him dashing between a row of cars…heading for her sword.  In shock, she dropped Butch and started to fly that way, but it was too late; he reached the sword before she did.  Scooping it up, he gripped it tightly and prepared for his attack.

            A glow coming from the top of one of the cars nearby drew their attention…it was Boomer.  He had finally fallen still, and his body gave off a bright light…and as the glow faded, his components were all that was left: snips, snails and a puppy dog tail.  Brick looked quickly between Bubbles and the spot where Boomer was, and finally decided, heading for the car instead.

            Bubbles watched as he scooped up Boomer's components and then started to fly again.  He stopped momentarily, looking down at Butch, who was still lying on the ground, but continued on into the sky, flying back off towards the city.  Bubbles watched him leave, then looked over at Butch as well.  He was still there, still looking back at Bubbles fearfully.

            "It's all right," she said in a soft, reassuring voice, "I won't hurt you…"  Butch's expression brightened as he realized that he was going to live after all.  A relieved smile crossed his face, and Bubbles gasped.  It wasn't just fear that she had never seen in her sisters before, but they wouldn't have smiled either…her intuition was right; somehow, he was all right…

            She flew over to him and carefully lifted him up, "Don't worry, I've got you," she told him, and started flying back for home, holding him in her arms.  _I don't know what happened_, she thought, _but maybe the professor can figure it out.  If Butch really _is_ all right, then maybe, just maybe, he'll help me try to stop the other two…this could be the lucky break I was hoping for…_

*          *            *

            Brick flew back into Mojo's hideout and dumped Boomer's components back into the bowl that was sitting on the table.  He set down the Duranium sword and quickly started to leaf through Mojo's papers, saying to himself aloud, "The procedure…the procedure…it's got to be around here somewhere…"

            Not finding it amongst the papers on the table, he pulled a drawer from a file cabinet nearby and started thumbing through the papers.  It mostly contained schematics for robots, or blueprints for weapons…not what he was looking for.  Finally, he reached some formulas, and nodded in satisfaction as he found it: the procedure for making the Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys.  He checked it, and saw that all he needed to do was mix the components together and add Chemical X…easy enough.

            As he started to close the drawer, something caught his eye…one of the files were sticking out a little from when he was thumbing through it, and he pulled the file up to get a closer look at it.  It was a blueprint for a device, and there was a note attached, which he quickly read:

_I do not know what possessed me to invent such a device, as it would be a device of last resort, to only be used when there are no other options, and as there are always plenty of other options, I would thusly never use such a device.  Besides, if it is incorrectly set, not calibrated correctly, the results would be disastrous, cataclysmic.  Regardless, I shall keep the plans for it in case I should actually need it sometime._

            Brick took a look at the blueprints and read the notes along the sides, describing the device's function.  He rubbed his chin thoughtfully…then pulled the file out from the cabinet, closing the drawer once again.  He set it down on the table nearby and got to work, picking up the spoon from the table and giving Boomer's ingredients a quick stir before adding a few drops of Chemical X from the beaker nearby.

            He backed up as the mixture exploded, and as the light from the explosion settled down, he saw Boomer floating above the bowl.  Almost immediately, Boomer grabbed his throat in pain and fell forward.  He landed on the ground, and lifted himself to one knee, still clutching his throat with one hand.

            "Welcome back, Boomer," Brick said.

            Boomer coughed once and said, "Thanks…"  He straightened back up and dusted off his shirt.  "So, now what?"

            "Now, we have a change of plans," Brick said, lifting up the file from the table and showing it to him.  "We're going to build something, instead…"

            Boomer looked the blueprints over, then glanced up at Brick.  "Mojo truly was a genius…this will be just what we need…"

**_TO BE CONTINUED…_**


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 

            Bubbles opened the door to the Professor's lab and flew in, carrying Butch with her, who was looking around in confused amazement at the new surroundings.  The professor looked up from the table where he was still prepping his weapon, and his eyes widened when he laid eyes on Butch.  Bubbles quickly said, "Don't worry, Professor, he's okay…"

            "Are you sure?" the professor said, looking skeptical as the two of them landed on the ground nearby.  His hand didn't stray too far from the weapon.

            "I'm sure," Bubbles replied.  "I used the Antidote X on him, and next thing I knew, he was all right.  His name's Butch."

            The professor was more at ease now, and walked over, kneeling down next to Butch and saying, "Are you all right?"

            "I…think I will be…" Butch managed to say.  "But I dunno…not after all that…"

            "What happened?" the professor asked him, "Can you tell me?"

            Butch thought for a second and said, "I came back to life…and I remembered what happened to me.  How I…died…and everything.  It was…it was so a-awful…"  He struggled to maintain his composure as he spoke, "I-I saw Death…and I…I saw the truth about life…"

            The professor nodded, "Go on…"

            "But when she splashed that stuff on me, it was like…"  Butch hesitated as he tried to figure out how to explain it.  "It was like…I dunno, kinda like someone took a blindfold offa me…I realized it, I realized that there was more to life…"

Bubbles smiled at that…it was the one thought that she had taken to heart, the thought that had saved _her_ from the abyss.  "That's what I wish I could've shown my sisters, Butch," she said, "but they wouldn't listen.  But it's great that one of you saw what I did…"

            "I just…"  Butch closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  "I wish I could take back what I did…all those people in that stadium, I…helped kill them…and Mojo, I was the one who…"  He trailed off, and fell silent.

            Bubbles put a hand on his shoulder and said, "It's all right, it wasn't your fault…"

            "Astounding…" the professor said to himself as he listened to the two of them.  "I can't believe it…when I was looking for a way to fix things before, I went about it the wrong way…"

            Bubbles was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

            "If you recall, I was intent on finding a way to repress your sisters' memories," he said, "but the answer wasn't in preventing them from getting those memories back; it was in allowing them to see _everything_.  Perhaps…perhaps Chemical X was acting as a block of some sort, blinding them to everything except for the pain they felt…and when the Antidote X removed it, they were allowed to see it once again."

            "Yeah," Butch said thoughtfully.  "Yeah, that's it _exactly_.  That's what I felt when that 'Antidote X' took my powers away!"

            "I can't believe it," Bubbles whispered, starting up at a flask of Antidote X that was sitting on one of the tables.  "Antidote X…it was that easy?  But…"  Another thought occurred to her, "But wait a second…something doesn't make sense, Professor…"

            "What's that, Bubbles?" he asked.

            "Well, I _used_ Antidote X on Blossom _and_ Buttercup," she reminded him, "So why didn't it w--…"  She cut herself off as she suddenly came to the realization herself.  "Oh…oh no…"

            "What?" Butch asked, thoroughly confused.

            Bubbles recalled what happened, and struggled to hold her tears in, but failed as they began to well up in her eyes.  "I…I used it on Blossom…but then, I…k-killed her…knocked her up onto that fence…oh god, if I hadn't done that…sh-she'd be okay right now…she'd still be alive…"

            "Honey, no…don't blame yourself, you didn't know…" the professor said reassuringly, running a hand through her hair.  "You had no idea…"

            "That's not _all!_" Bubbles cried.  "D-do you remember what Buttercup said wh-when we brought her in here?  Y-you put that mask on her, but she was trying to say something…she was trying to let us know, Professor!  She was trying to let us know she was okay!!"

            The professor remembered that, and had realized what had happened just as Bubbles did.  How Buttercup woke up, while they had her on the table, and managed to say only "No wait, I…" before he fixed the gas mask over her mouth, stifling her speech and keeping her silent…

            "We…killed them…" Bubbles continued, filled with even more grief than before.  "We killed them both…oh, Professor!  We _killed_ them…"  She burst out crying now and clung to the professor's leg, crying against it.  The professor was at a loss for words…he had no idea what to say in order to ease things for her.  Butch didn't know what was going on, but he knew enough.  Bubbles was undoubtedly referring to her sisters, and he could only imagine how terrible that must have been for her, to have been forced to kill them both.

            Bubbles lifted her head to stare up at the Professor again and said, "Professor, just…answer me one thing…will the Antidote X work on anyone?  Even the other Rowdyruff Boys?  Will it make them stop killing, too?"

            "I don't know, I'd have to run some tests," the professor answered, "but my guess is that it should…"

            Butch's expression brightened, "That means…we can get Brick and Boomer back the way they were, too?  Oh, awesome!"  He grinned at the great news, but his grin faded as he saw Bubbles' expression, which somehow looked even more distressed than before.  "What's wrong?" he asked.

            "Oh my god…oh my god…" Bubbles whispered…barely a moment after that, she suddenly shrieked, "_NO!!_"  Butch and the professor both leaned back in surprise at this sudden outburst.

            "What?  What is it?" the professor demanded, worried.

            "We…we…" Bubbles stammered, then started crying loudly, "We let them go!_  We let them go!!_  If we hadn't…we could've…oh god…"

            The professor understood what she meant: her sister's ingredients, the ones they had released to the winds when they thought all hope of bringing them back was lost.  "Easy now, Bubbles…" he said, trying to calm her.

            "NO!" she yelled, flying back up into the air.  Her expression had turned angry once again, and her voice rose in pitch as she yelled, "_You_ did it!  You made me let them_ go!  _We coulda brought 'em _back_ if we'd just _kept them_ like I _wanted to!_"  The professor didn't know what to say.  Bubbles didn't care, though; she couldn't take it…she knew deep down that she should have been happy that they had found a 'cure', but all it did was fill her with more sorrow.

_It's worse than not being able to save them, _she thought.  _Being able to save them, but not realizing it until its too late…If only I had, then they'd still be alive!_  _They'd be with me right now…we'd be laughing, and playing, and fighting crime, and learning, together…instead of…no…please, no!!  This isn't happening…this can't be happening…_

            It was too much for her…she reeled dizzly for a moment, then collapsed on the ground.  As Butch and the professor looked over her, she mumbled, "…all our…fault…" before passing out entirely…

*          *            *

            The pile of equipment that Brick and Boomer had collected into the center of the observatory was quite sizeable…but it was far from complete.  They rummaged through it, trying to sort out everything that they needed.  "Find a 'spatial enhancer' yet, Brick?" Boomer asked.

            "Not yet…" he murmered from the other side of the pile, but then added, "No wait, I think this is it…yeah, Mojo labeled it and everything."

            "Great," Boomer nodded, still unsmiling.  "I found the right size power cells.  But we're still missing a lot."

            Brick came from around the pile, setting the small, palm-sized spatial enhancer on one of the tables and picking up the blueprints, examining them, "Hmm…you're right.  We're missing the focused laser, the matter intensifier, and…well, yes, a large number of smaller parts."

            "You'd think Mojo would_ have_ these," Boomer said, giving up on the pile and stepping back to stare at it, folding his arms.  "I don't get it…this device would certainly be a huge help, but we probably could have cleared out all life from this whole _city_ by now, don't you think?"

            "Perhaps, perhaps not," Brick shrugged.  "But this is still the best way to be absolutely sure."

            Boomer sighed, "You're right, of course.  So where do we look?"

            "Corporations in Townsville," Brick suggested.  "Laboratories.  Research and development companies.  Wherever they keep advanced stuff like this.  We can continue our task on the way, if you'd like."

            "It would," he said, as both of them flew out from the observatory.  "All this preparation…it feels like we're making no progress whatsoever.  And what about Butch?"

            Brick narrowed his eyes and said, "Forget him…if Bubbles took him, he must be dead by now.  A pity he can't help us, but I envy him…he finds release from the pain of life, while we must endure it as long as life still exists for us to put to an end."

            They were barely over one of the first small sections of skyscrapers.  Even in the quickly dimming light, as night fell, they spotted a small research facility below.  The lights at the windows indicated that there were still scientists laboring within.  The boys nodded to each other and descended quickly towards their unsuspecting target below…

*          *            *

            Bubbles groaned and opened her eyes…as the lab came into focus, she realized that she must have fainted.  Sitting up, she found herself on a small bed in the lab, one of the professor's medical examination tables…he undoubtedly carried her over and put her there.  The professor himself was nearby, tinkering with something on the table.  She said, "…Professor?"

            "Oh, hello, Bubbles," he said, smiling over at her, "Glad to see you awake again."

            "How long was I out?" she asked, sliding her feet over the side of the bed stiffly and stretching one of her arms.

            The professor picked up a syringe from the table and filled it with liquid from a beaker as he said, "Not long…only about ten minutes, actually.  Just enough time for me to finish this procedure."

            Blinking a few times, Bubbles scratched her head and said, "What procedure?"  It was then that she noticed she wasn't the only one that was on an examination table.  Butch was nearby on another bed, only he was strapped down.  "What's going on?" she asked.

            Butch looked at her and grinned slightly, "It's okay…he's just seein' if he can give me my powers back…right?"

            "Right," the professor said.  He carried the syringe over and said, "A small shot of Chemical X should counteract the Antidote X, and your powers should return to you."

            Bubbles wasn't as confident in the procedure as the professor sounded.  She said, "I dunno…are you sure that's a good idea?  What if he turns back the way he was?"

            Indicating the straps that held him in place, he explained, "That's why I strapped him down.  If anything goes wrong, we can just apply another dose of Antidote X again.  I think this is worth the risk, though, because it'll be easier to stop the other two Rowdyruffs if you had a partner to help you out.  Butch, are you ready?"

            Butch nodded, "I'm ready."  The professor nodded in return, and took a small cotton ball, dabbing a small spot on his arm to clean it.  He carefully inserted the needle, and Butch winced as it entered.  Once the injection was completely, he removed the needle and watched.

            "Feel anything yet?" Bubbles asked, anxiously.

            Butch thought for a moment, and said, "I think so…yeah, I'm feeling stronger now…"  He smiled and said, "Great!  I feel like a million bucks!"

            Bubbles gave a relieved smile, and said, "He's still all right!  Thank goodness…look, as soon as possible, we need to go stop the other two."  A thought occurred to her, and she added, "Right away…before they do anything else!  Ten minutes is a long time, they could have done who-knows-what by now…"

            Undoing the straps on the table, the professor released Butch, who hovered up into the air and said, "Right.  What's the plan?  Do we go back to Mojo's place?  Or go looking across the city?  Or both?"

            "No, not both; I don't wanna split up," Bubbles said, shaking her head.  "We gotta face them together."

            "Fine by me," he said, then turned to the professor.  "We'll need some Antidote X to bring with us."

            Nodding, the professor said, "I'll get you both a vial of it.  Be extremely careful with it, will you?"

            "Of course," Bubbles agreed.  She flew over to another part of the lab, opening up the locker and removing the other two Duranium swords.  She tossed one to Butch and said, "Here, you'll need this, too."

            Butch inspected the sword carefully, then grinned again, "I like it."  His grin melted slightly, though, and he got a pensive look on his face.

            "What?  What is it?" Bubbles asked.

            "I just…" Butch said slowly.  "I just realized…I'm might have to kill my own brothers…wouldn't I?"  When Bubbles nodded, he looked down at the ground and continued, "I'll try my best…we'll do everything we can with the Antidote X, but what if it doesn't work on them?  What if it doesn't save them, like it saved me?  If it comes to it, and we have to kill them, I…"  He stopped, and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.  "I just…don't know if I can…they're my _brothers_…"

            "I understand," Bubbles said, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.  "Believe me, I understand _completely_."

            Butch put his other hand on her shoulder and gave a warm smile, "Thanks, Bubbles…thanks for your support.  I don't know if I could do this without you…"

            Bubbles grinned slightly, and said, "Hey, I'm just happy you aren't the big _jerk_ you used to be…"  They both stared at each other for a moment, and Butch started to snicker.  Bubbles couldn't hold it either and started to giggle along with him.  They both broke into peals of laughter, and for the first time in over a week, Bubbles felt happy once again…

            "We'd…" Butch said, catching his breath, "We'd…better get going…"

            "Right!" Bubbles exclaimed.  The two of them flew towards the exit to the lab, pausing for a moment by the professor to each take one of the two vials of Antidote X he held out for them.  Tucking them away securely, they left the lab, and Bubbles set her expression once again.  _Even if our task ahead is grim,_ she thought, _at least I won't have to face it alone…_

*          *            *

            They flew over the city without spotting anything unusual.  A few emergency vehicles were heading towards the place where the stadium used to be, but other than that, the rest of the city seemed quiet.  Bubbles took that as a good sign and hastened her way to Mojo's hideout, Butch following close behind.

            As they approached it, they spotted something from far off, also coming from the sky.  A red and a blue streak of light…_Brick and Boomer,_ Bubbles thought.  She ducked into one of the freshly planted trees in the park and whispered to Butch, "Psst!  Hurry, this way…"

            Butch followed without question.  As they took cover, they peered out from the leaves of the tree and saw the two boys approach.  Brick was carrying a small pile of electronic equipment, and Boomer was carrying something that looked like a television, but was probably a computer monitor of some sort.  "What's all _that_ for?" Butch whispered.

            Shrugging, Bubbles watched them disappear into the observatory, and she motioned for Butch to follow.  She flew out cautiously from the tree and went up by one of the windows that were still intact, peering inside carefully.  Butch flew up next to her and looked through as well.

            They were definitely assembling something.  There were bits of electronic components scattered around, but one larger device in the center of the hideout that looked unfinished.  Boomer attached the monitor to the side of the device while Brick set the equipment he was carrying on one of the tables.  He picked up a set of blueprints from the table and studied them intently.

            "That figures," Butch whispered, frowning.  "They're probably putting one of Mojo's weapons together…"

            Bubbles said, "Yeah, but why?  _We're_ more powerful than anything Mojo's ever invented…at least, I'm pretty sure we are…so why do they need a weapon?"

            "I don't know…"  Butch narrowed his eyes and said, "Shoot…if I could only get a look at those blueprints…"

            "We can wait until they leave…" Bubbles suggested.

            Boomer turned to Brick and started floating over.  They could hear him talk, just barely, "It's installed.  What's next?"

            "Next," Brick replied, pointing to a spot on the diagram, "we need a x-ray emitter."

            "They'll have one at the hospital," Boomer said.  "Let's head over there right…now…"  He trailed off as his eyes fell on the window, the one that Bubbles and Butch were watching from.  Brick noticed his surprised glance and turned to look as well.

Bubbles and Butch quickly ducked down, but they knew it was too late; they had been spotted.  Butch hissed quietly, "Quickly, go around the other side…you can get 'em from behind…"  Bubbles nodded and shot around the other end of the observatory, while Brick drew his sword and held it firmly, waiting for them to come out.

            He didn't have long to wait.  Brick and Boomer soared out through the hole in the observatory and hovered there, glaring at him.  Boomer said, "Well, I _am_ surprised to see you alive again…but I'm even more surprised that you're helping the enemy."

            "_They're_ not the enemy," Butch growled, "_You_ are!"

            Brick drifted forward slowly, pulling out his own sword, the one he had recovered from Bubbles, and shook his head, "Don't try to play innocent.  We're doing the right thing, and you know it.  You even helped…or have you forgotten the stadium?"

            Butch clenched his teeth, "That wasn't…my…_fault_…"

            "Believe what you will," Boomer said.  "But stay out of our way."

            While they spoke, Bubbles came around from the other side of the observatory.  Butch knew he had stalled long enough and shouted, "Shut up!  Are you going to fight me, or not?"

            "I don't blame you for being so eager to die," Brick said, "Very well, it's time for…"

            At that moment, two things happened simultaneously.  Bubbles had pulled the vial of Antidote X out and flung it's contents right towards Brick's back…and at the same time, Brick spun around, firing his eyebeams.  The beams intersected the Antidote X in midair, disintegrating the liquid before it could reach him.  Bubbles gaped, and Brick completed his sentence, "…you two to die."

            _He was ready for the attack, _Bubbles thought…_No…now I don't have any Antidote X left!  I hope Butch can still use his…_  Bubbles drew her sword and said, "That doesn't matter, we've got you surrounded now!"

            "We'll continue this," Boomer said, "at the hospital…see you there."  Without another word, the two of them shot upwards.  Bubbles and Butch tried to cut them off, but they moved too fast, and both had gotten too big a lead on them.

As they tried to catch up, Butch called out, "Bubbles, which way is the hospital?"

"There are two hospitals…" she started to say, and noticed that Brick and Boomer suddenly split up, heading in opposite directions.  "No!  We gotta stop them!" Bubbles shouted.  "They'll attack them both!"

            "I'll go after Brick," Butch said.  "You take care of Boomer."

            "All right," Bubbles agreed.  "Be careful!"  Butch nodded and veered off in the direction Brick was heading.  Bubbles stayed hot on Boomer's heels, and thought, _That was probably the best choice…after all, Butch has the Antidote X, and he'll need it 'cause Brick has one of the swords.  Boomer should be easy to take care of; he's unarmed.  If we do this right, we could end this now, before anyone else is killed…_

*          *            *

            Brick arrived at the North Foundation Hospital of Townsville, and didn't care about looking for a door; he just burst right in through the wall.  Butch followed in right behind him.  The two of them charged through a room—luckily, it was empty—and out into the hallway.  Brick landed on the ground, spinning around to face Butch, clutching his sword firmly.

            Butch landed across from him and said, "You're coming with me, Brick.  Got it?  I want you back the way you _were_…"

            "I might say the same about you, traitor," Brick said coldly, narrowing his eyes.

            Butch noticed that people were beginning to gather at the ends of the hallway and out from various rooms to see what the commotion was.  _I'd better be sure to keep the fight from moving to them,_ he thought.  Aloud, he shouted, "I'm no traitor!  How can you say that?"

            "Because," Brick explained, "you're trying to save life.  Life brings only pain, and you're trying to save it, which means you're a traitor to _everything_.  In fact…"  He waved his free arm out to emphasize his point, "this whole _hospital_ exists to do the same thing.  Life seems so intent on allowing the anguish to continue.  Curing injury and illness just so that it can keep living and breathing.  Life is the _true_ disease here…it's a blight, and if there's ever to be peace, it must be exterminated."

            With a cry of rage, Butch leapt forward and swung his sword down.  With amazing speed, Brick easily blocked the blow and swung a counterstrike.  Butch ducked it and swung a quick kick his legs, tripping him.  He followed it up quickly with a slash from his sword, aiming for the ground, knowing that he would land there from the trip before his blade reached.

            He didn't, however.  Butch's blade passed harmlessly underneath Brick where he had started hovering again.  He was caught off-guard now, and Brick seized the opportunity, thrusting his sword forward.  The sword stabbed him right through the shoulder, and Butch grunted in pain, his own sword falling from his hand…the tip of Brick's sword was protruding through the back of his shoulder, covered in blood.

            "That was too easy," Brick said, turning the sword sharply in the wound so that the flat part was facing down.  Butch cried out in pain when he did this and fell to his knees.  As he did, though, his hand slowly strayed to where he had hidden the vial of Antidote X.  Brick still didn't remove the sword from him…he continued, "I don't even want you back the way you were.  I was prepared to go on without you, and I still am.  Enjoy your eternal nothingness, 'brother'…"

            Butch finally reached the vial and quickly pulled it out…but before he could splash the Antidote X from it, Brick swung one of his feet up, kicking the vial from his hand.  Butch watched helplessly as it arced through the air and smashed to the ground, shattering.  He didn't know what to do now…his face began to show signs of utter defeat.

            "So much for your backup plan," Brick said with no trace of humor in his voice.  "Now, where were we…oh, that's right…"  He reached down with his free hand and picked up Butch's sword.

            "No…no, _please_…" Butch pleaded, struggling to move.  It was useless, though, as long as he was held in place by the sword in his shoulder.  Brick wasn't wasting any time, either…he pulled the other sword back, preparing to slash him with it…Butch panicked and yelled, "_NOOOO!!_"

            As Brick began his swing, Butch made one last-ditch effort to survive…he brought both of his feet up and kicked Brick as hard as he could in the chest.  It worked…Brick, taken by surprise, was sent flying back towards the opposite end of the hall, the sword pulling free from Butch's shoulder in the process.  Brick hit the ground and skidded a few more feet before coming to a stop.

            Clutching his shoulder in pain, Butch flew back up into the air and retreated out of the hospital as fast as he could.  Brick started to follow, but then remembered that he had come here for a reason.  Letting his brother escape, he turned and headed down the hall, looking for a room with an X-ray machine.  He kept both of his swords at the ready…he knew he could make it to his destination faster if he didn't have to fly _around_ people…

*          *            *

            Boomer made it to the South Foundation Hospital of Townsville quicker than Bubbles had.  It wasn't hard to spot where he had gone, though, because she could see a hole in the wall where he had punched through.  Bubbles flew in after him, into a large waiting lounge, a lounge filled with people that looked shocked…no doubt from seeing Boomer crash into the room.  However, Boomer was nowhere in sight.

            "Did any of you see where he went?" Bubbles asked.

            "Yes," one older man answered her.  "A little blue feller…he went that way."  He pointed towards a swinging door that lead to the doctors' offices.  She nodded a quick thank-you and flew through this door in pursuit.

            She immediately came to a halt…Boomer floated not twenty feet from her, holding one of the doctors up by the throat.  She struggled in his grasp but couldn't break it.  Bubbles gasped and tightened her grip on her sword, "Let her go!"

            "No," Boomer said.  "Drop your sword first.  Or she dies."

            Bubbles froze, trying to decide what to do.  _Forget her,_ she thought…_if you let Boomer go, he'll kill even more people…this is just one life, what's one life?_

            As she thought about this, the doctor looked into her eyes…her face was filled with fear, and her own eyes were pleading for her to do something.  _No,_ Bubbles thought, _I'm not going to be responsible for this…one life or a hundred, I can't let him hurt anyone else!_

            _Why bother?_ she continued to think…_One life, one insignificant little life…at least it's one less life, one out of the way…it's not like she _deserves_ to live…let her die…let them all die…_

            _NO!  I'm not going to let ANYone die!  Not a single person!  Not one more pers—_

            "Time's up," Boomer said, interrupting her thoughts.  Before Bubbles could even flinch, he twisted his hand, snapping her neck in one simple motion.  He let the doctor fall from his grasp onto the ground…

            "Oh _NO!!!_" Bubbles shrieked.  With a heart-rending cry, she dove for Boomer, pulling back her sword and preparing to swing, but Boomer had anticipated this frenzied attack, and did something unexpected…he flew_ towards_ Bubbles instead of away from her.  He closed the distance before she could swing and slammed a fist into her gut.

She doubled over from the punch, and before she could recover, Boomer grabbed hold of her sword and twisted it free, kicking her in the chest in the same motion.  Bubbles was knocked clear through the wall, through a doctor's office and sent crashing through the window.  She fell for a distance further before landing in the hospital's parking lot below.

            Blinking, and trying to regain her senses, she saw something hurtling towards her and immediately threw herself to one side with a yelp.  She saw a moment later what it was…the body of the doctor he had killed.  Bubbles looked at it, horrified, then looked back up at the window.  Boomer was standing near it, and called down, "I have more important things to attend to…I'll deal with you _later_."

He disappeared back inside, and Bubbles looked down at the doctor again, thinking, _No…I killed her…if I'd just acted sooner, I might have saved her…it's my fault…and now, I can't do anything to stop him…_  She buried her face in her hands and started crying, slowly picking herself up and flying to a safer distance.  _Nothing we're doing is working, _she thought, praying that Butch at the very least had better luck than her…_What if…what if we can't stop them?!  Professor, I'm coming back…please, you've got to have something we can try…something we can still do…there's got to be a way…_

**_TO BE CONTINUED_**


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 

            Butch flew across the city as quickly as he could, clutching his shoulder.  He knew that Brick was too busy to follow him, but he still wanted to get as far away as possible.  The scene back at the hospital was far too close of a call.  He clenched his teeth tighter as another surge of pain from the wound on his shoulder reminded him just how close a call it really was.  _I almost died back there,_ he thought…_again.  I…I don't know if I can do this…they're really trying to kill me…my own brothers…_

            As he headed back for the Utonium household, he paused for a moment, looking off to one side, towards Townsville Park.  _They're not home,_ Butch thought.  _Maybe this is my chance to find out what they're up to.  I've gotta hurry, though…who knows how long they'll be gone?_

            He started flying again, this time towards the park.  He crossed the remaining distance to it and flew into the observatory.  Landing, he jogged over to the table, giving the still-unfinished device another curious glance.  Whatever it was, it didn't look terribly complicated, or even particularly dangerous.  It looked like just some random objects stuck together.  It had to be _something_ important, though…why else would they build it?

            Reaching the table, he found what he was looking for.  He lifted the blueprints and looked them over.  As he read the title, he was dumbfounded…the terms were unfamiliar to him.  Knowing that Mojo tended to explain things in tremendous detail, he started looking further down for a better description in the rest of the plans…

            He didn't have the chance, though, for suddenly, he heard something, a familiar rush of air.  _They're already back!_ he thought.  Dropping the plans back on the table, he glanced around desperately, but there was nowhere to hide.  He finally looked up and spotted his only available option.  Flying up quickly, he wedged himself between two of the support girders that ran across the high dome of the observatory.  Just as he did this, Brick and Boomer flew in, landing.

            Butch tried to keep his breathing as quiet as possible and didn't move a muscle.  He prayed that they wouldn't look up, and watched intently, ready to try to bolt at a moments notice.  Brick and Boomer both approached the machine in the center of the room and each attached a device to it, likely the x-ray emitters they were searching for.

            He noticed the sword on Boomer's back, and something else occurred to him.  _He got away from the hospital,_ he thought, _with Bubbles' sword…oh geez…I hope she's okay!  If they…if they killed her…_

            "What's next?" Boomer said, finishing the last of the connections.

            Brick headed over to the table and looked over the plans.  The table was directly below Butch, but thankfully, they hadn't looked up yet.  Pointing at something on the plans, Brick looked down at it and said, "This…we'll get this next."  Butch squinted, trying to see, but Brick's head was in the way, and he couldn't.

            Boomer walked over and looked where Brick was pointing, saying, "Yes…I think I know where we can get that."

            "Great," Brick said.  "That'll save us some searching time."

            Butch listened, hoping they would give away some tidbit of information, some clue as to where they were going next.  As he did, another surge of pain shot through his shoulder.  He winced, but managed to stay quiet.  He glanced at it to make sure it was all right…and suddenly became aware of a new danger.  The blood from his wound had slowed, thankfully, but it was building up by the edge, and was getting ready to drip off of it.  He quickly brought one of his hands over to cover it up, but a moment too late.  He watched in horror as the drop of blood fell, directly towards the boys below, and held his breath…

            They turned away from the plans just before it hit, however.  As their backs were turned, the drop of blood hit the plans, leaving a small stain.  Brick said, "All right, let's go.  We need to be back as soon as possible."

            "I'm ready," Boomer replied, and the two of them flew out of the observatory.  Butch listened carefully until he could no longer hear them, and then waited another few moments just to be sure.  He finally gave out a sigh of relief.

            Without another moment's hesitation, he dropped down from the ceiling and flew out as well.  As long as they were gone, he had to get back to the Utonium household before they could return.  He had no idea what the device was, but perhaps the professor would…

*          *            *

            Bubbles arrived in the lab, shouting, "Professor!"  The professor looked up from the table, and she continued, "I couldn't stop them…"

            "What happened?" the professor asked.

            Bubbles quickly explained how they had listened in on the other boys at the observatory, and how they each went for a hospital to get an x-ray emitter for whatever it was they were building.  She also told them how she and Butch split up, each chasing one of them.  "I couldn't stop Boomer," she added.  "I got away, but he…he has my sword now, and…I missed with the Antidote X…"

            The professor cringed and said, "You have to be more careful…only use it when you've got a clear opening.  It's for your own safety, but that's not the only reason.  I'm running low on it.  We only have a limited supply, so you need to use it only when necessary."

            "How much is left?" Bubbles asked.

            The professor shook his head, "Enough for another three, maybe four doses."

            Bubbles was worried, "You can make more, right?"

            "Yes, I can," the professor answered, "but the process takes twenty-four hours…"

            "We might not _have_ that much time!" Bubbles protested.  The professor opened his mouth to say something, when the door to the lab swung open again.  They both turned to look, and saw Butch float in.  He didn't have his sword with him anymore, and even worse, he was clutching his shoulder in pain, and Bubbles could see blood on his shirt around the wound.

            She rushed over, "Butch!  Are you okay?  What happened?"

            Butch made it to one of the examination tables and laid down, grunting, "I took a…bad stab back there…but I'm okay…I think…"

            The professor came by the side of the bed carefully examined the wound.  "It's not as bad as it looks, I'll have it bandaged up in a jiffy."  He took some bandages from the table nearby and started fixing the wound up.

            As he worked, Butch looked up at Bubbles and said, "I'm sorry…I couldn't stop him…I tried, but…"

            "It's okay," Bubbles said.  "At least you got back safely."

            "You too…" Butch nodded.  "I saw Boomer going back…and he had your sword…I was afraid he'd done something to you…but I'm glad you're okay…"

            Bubbles smiled and said, "It's all right.  We'll get you fixed up, and then we can find a way to stop whatever it is they're doing."

            That suddenly reminded Butch, and recalling the terms he saw on the plans he read, he sat up slightly, saying, "Professor…I got a glimpse of their plans…I didn't understand 'em though.  Do you know what a 'Neutrino Intracellular Neutralization Wave Emitter' might be?"

            The professor narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin, "Well, from the sound of it…something to neutralize a cell's natural energy functions…that would allow small changes in the cell's operation, but what good would that do?  Unless…"  His eyes widened again, and he said, "You said they were putting x-ray emitters into it, are you sure?"

            "Absolutely," Butch said.  "I saw them installing the emitters myself."

            The professor paled slightly.  He straightened up and suddenly set his face into an expression of seriousness.  His tone was equally serious, "You need to go back there right away and destroy that machine.  Destroy it, and the plans, quickly."

            "Why?  What is it?" Bubbles asked, concerned by this sudden change of attitude.

            "If that device does what I think it would do," the professor said, "then it _must_ be destroyed before they can use it.  From the sound of it, the device most likely emits waves of neutrinos and x-rays, designed to completely disrupt the functions of living cells, likely on anything within a certain radius."

            Butch was confused, "What does that mean?"

            "It means that any living thing that the wave crosses would die," he explained.  "Anything…not even a _single-celled_ life form could survive something like that."

            Bubbles imagined this…_A weapon that can destroy any life, all life,_ she thought…_no wonder they're so eager to build it_.  "How big of an area?" she said, feeling very afraid now.

            "I don't know," the professor said.  "Potentially, if the wave is designed to gather up all of this intracellular energy that it disrupts, it could continue out to great distances.  My immediate guess would be a radius of several hundred miles, but that's conservative.  The scale of this thing might be global…"

            "The whole _world?!_" Butch said in shock.  "You can't be serious!"

            The professor shook his head, "I'm dead serious.  That device must never be allowed to activate.  You must stop them _immediately_."

            "Right," Bubbles said, nodding.  "But…we don't have anything to fight them with anymore…"

            The professor walked briskly over to another table and picked up the spike weapon he had invented, handing it to her, "Take this, but be very careful with it.  It has an extremely low rate of fire, and the Duranium spikes are not easily replaced.  Make each shot count.  Do you understand?"

            "I…yes, I do…" Bubbles said, with a slight bit of uncertainty.  It was difficult for her…holding the weapon that had killed Blossom.  Remembering her reaction as the robotic spike burrowed into her arm, seeking her heart.  She said, "We'll be back as soon as we can."  Butch nodded in agreement.

            "Good luck, you two," the professor said, and the two of them turned around, flying out from the lab.  The professor quickly began working with his chemicals.  They were all running out of weapons, and they needed something to fight with…he had to design something soon in case they failed…_No,_ he thought, _they'll succeed, they've got to…_

*          *            *

            They flew straight for the observatory.  On their way, they could tell that word of what was going on must have been getting out, because more emergency vehicles sounded, especially in the areas near where both of the hospitals were.  Bubbles wondered just how many people were killed already this evening…it seemed ludicrous that she tried her hardest to stop the killing, but failed so miserably.

            He explained the usage of the weapon she carried to Butch as they flew on the way there.  He understood, and perhaps seemed a little disturbed by the whole idea of the weapon, but he summed up Bubbles' own sentiment by saying, "At least if you hit them with it, you know they're through."

            As they approached the observatory, they could see the boys inside, back from wherever their last trip took them.  Bubbles ducked down into one of the trees again, and Butch followed.  She handed the weapon over to him and whispered, "I have a plan…here, take this…"

            Nodding, Butch said, "What do I do?"

            "Stay right here and watch that opening," she told him.  "I'm gonna try to sneak in and blast that device…if they see me, I'll fly outta there, and when they chase me out, that's when you shoot."

            "Gotcha," Butch said, taking aim at the side of the observatory.  "I'm all set, Bubbles.  Go for it."

            Bubbles flew out from the trees and stayed close to the ground as she flew towards the base of the volcano.  Looking around for a moment, she spotted the hole she had made earlier, flying through it into the volcano's center.  Rising along with the heat from beneath her, she headed up towards the observatory.

            She looked carefully up through the hole in the ground.  The device wasn't far, but neither were the boys.  Still, she didn't have a clear shot from here, so she sneaked up through the hole and slipped quietly behind some equipment near it.  The boys hadn't spotted her…they were too busy adding parts to the device.

Slowly, she leaned around the edge until she knew she had a nice clean shot on it.  She carefully powered her eyebeams up and fired…but that's when they moved.  How they knew she was there, she had no idea, but Brick was suddenly between the eyebeams and the device, one of the Duranium swords held out to stop the blast.  It was one of her stronger blasts, though, so the blade was knocked free from his hand, clattering to the ground.

            Bubbles gasped and tried to make a break for the exit, but Boomer was already blocking it off, sword at the ready.  Brick was recovering now, as well, drawing his other sword.  "Nice try," he said, "But I heard you when you came in.  And now, you won't be leaving."

            "That's what you think!" Bubbles shouted.  She dove towards Boomer, like she was going to try to dash past him to make a break for the exit.  Boomer pulled his sword back, prepared to swing, but before Bubbles reached him, she turned quickly and started flying at Brick, towards his unprotected side.  She slammed into him shoulder-first, knocking him down.

            Brick frowned and tried to swing his sword at her, but she had already gained some distance…she was now heading for a new target: the sword she had knocked away from Brick.  She scooped it up quickly, and at the same time, Brick leapt back to his feet and started approaching her again.  Boomer also came at her from the other side.

            _Two on one_, Bubbles thought.  _I've done it before, I can do it now…_  Both Brick and Boomer swung together at her, and Bubbles blocked both swings with her own sword, but the force of their combined impact knocked her back just the same.  She stumbled off-balance, and Brick thrust his sword forward while he had the opening.

            She rolled to one side, though, and did a surprising move, catching the flat part of the blade between her arm and body and holding it in place.  She used the leverage this gave her to twist back the other way and wrench the sword free from his hand, where it was tossed to the ground.  Continuing the motion, she turned all the way around, swinging her own sword directly at him.

            The sword fount its mark…Brick didn't even have time to shout as the blade slashed across his chest, leaving a deep, gaping wound.  Brick tottered for a moment, then collapsed onto his back.

            Boomer clenched his teeth and took another swing at her, but she had already darted out of the way, sliding quickly past him and rushing for the exit.  Boomer followed her out of the opening…

            Butch saw Bubbles fly out from the observatory, and Boomer was hot on her heels.  _That's it, dude,_ he thought…_shoot him, quickly!_  He lined up, being extra-careful not to accidentally shoot Bubbles, and pulled the trigger.  The tiny metal spike launched from the barrel of the weapon and shot through the air, heading for Boomer.

            Boomer sensed something was wrong, though…Bubbles' retreat didn't make any sense to him, since she had the upper hand.  When he flew out from the observatory, he automatically looked quickly around for anyone else, and spotted Butch a split second before the spike was fired.  Small as it was, he saw it coming towards him and raised the blade of his sword up protectively.

            The spike hit the blade and was rebounded back.  Butch was startled…he tried to throw himself to one side, but he didn't make it all the way in time.  The spike struck him in the right foot, and he winced in pain…

            Bubbles gasped when she saw that, "Oh no!  Butch!"  She flew as quickly as she could over to the tree, and Boomer took this opportunity to fly back into the observatory.  Butch reached down and tried to pluck the spike from his foot, but it had already sprouted its claws, and just before he grabbed it, the thing had burrowed its way into his foot.

            "Ghaa!" Butch screamed in a panic, dropping the professor's weapon and grasping his leg.  "Get it out, get it _out_!  Bubbles, _help!!_"  Bubbles knew she didn't have long…she knew the spike was going to travel the rest of the way up his leg, up into his chest, seeking out his heart.  She also saw the look of fear in his eyes, and knew how afraid he was to face death again, just like her.  She gripped her sword and thought, _You've got to do it…he'll die if you don't…hurry, do it now!_

She whispered, "I'm sorry…" and raised her sword, swinging it down…with one blow, she severed most of Butch's right leg clean off.  Butch screamed when she did this, his leg falling from the air out of the tree and hitting the ground below.  _He_ couldn't stay airborne either and began to fall similarly.  Bubbles quickly caught him with her free arm.

            "Hang on, you're gonna be all right," she said, trying to calm him down.  Butch's scream stopped, replaced by short gasps of pain as he clasped his hands around what was left of his leg.  He was still in shock, but Bubbles herself was also shaken badly by what she had been forced to do.  _You did the right thing,_ she thought.  _He woulda died if you hadn't…but he still might die if you don't get him bandaged up quickly!_

            Butch held tightly onto her arm, not letting go.  Tears rolled down his face, and his breathing was still quickened…still, as Bubbles began to carry him off, he managed to say, "Th…tha…nk…you…"  The two of them left the park, heading for home once again.

            A few seconds later, a white flash came from the observatory.  Barely a minute passed before Boomer emerged from the observatory, along with the now-revived Brick.  They didn't leave empty-handed, however…both of them carried piles of chemicals and equipment, including the device itself and its blueprints…

*          *            *

            Bubbles flew into the professor's lab, carrying Butch with her, leaving a trail of blood behind where they flew.  The professor saw his condition and gasped.  Bubbles quickly explained what happened, and he went to work patching up his leg.  He had lost a lot of blood, but thankfully he would be all right.

            Taking her sword with her, Bubbles told them she was going back to the observatory to try and destroy the device again, and for Butch to stay here until he felt strong enough to follow.  They agreed, and Bubbles set out again, heading back to the park once again.

            When she got there, the first thing she saw was the place on the ground where Butch had dropped the professor's weapon…it had fallen too far and was smashed to pieces against the ground.  She shook her head…another weapon lost.  At least she managed to get one of the swords back, or else they would have been _completely_ defenseless.

            Flying up into the observatory carefully, though, she found another disheartening sight: they have vacated Mojo's hideout, taking everything with them.  She was crestfallen…she had no idea how much more of the machine was left to assemble, and even worse, she didn't know where they were hiding it now.  By the time she found it, it could be too late.

            She dropped down, landing on her knees and staring at the empty spot where the device used to be.  _It's all over, you can't do anything now,_ she thought.  _They're gone.  Just…just give up, everyone's going to die anyway…_

            _I can't give up,_ she told herself.  _I can't…not as long as there's still a chance…_

_            Why bother?  It's all going to end soon anyway.  Just wait for Death, and be happy, knowing that there will be no more suffering…only silent bliss…_

She remembered Blossom's words…she had said something similar.  Bubbles grabbed the sides of her head and thought, _Don't let them win!  Life is good…life is good!  Life is GOOD!!_

            _Silence is good…peace is good…Death…is good…_

_            NO!  Not for everything!  Everything has to die eventually, but life always continues!  Life must always continue!  Nobody has the right to just take it away from everyone…they have a choice!  If I don't stop them, it'll all be over…the choice will be taken from them…I have to find them, I have to stop them!_

            She got back to her feet and said aloud, "I'll find you…wherever you are, I'll find you…"  Flying out from the observatory, she took to the skies, looking for some sign of them, wherever they might be…

*          *            *

            Brick and Boomer finished attaching more of the components to the device, which was now sitting inside an abandoned warehouse near the docks.  Brick could hear the constant sound of sirens off in the distance…the emergency crews running around, trying to search for survivors.  _So noisy,_ he thought…_just imagine how quiet everything will be, once life is destroyed.  All will be left to the peaceful solitude of Death…_

            "It's installed," Boomer announced.  "What's left?"

            "Only a few more things," Brick said, glancing over the plans again.  "We need something called a 'Phase-Induced Theta Transceiver'…"

            Boomer narrowed his eyes, "What in the world is _that?_  I've never heard anything like it…"

            "Me either," Brick said, "but look, Mojo had it circled on here, see?"

            Boomer came over and took a look.  Mojo had indeed drawn a big red circle around this component, and scribbled next to it was a name.  "Ahh," he said.  "I'll bet whoever this is has one of those.  Good thing Mojo did the research for us…it coulda taken us _hours_ to find someone who had this part."

            "Yeah," Brick agreed.  "So, shall we?"

            "Let's," Boomer nodded.  Both of them flew out from the warehouse…they knew its location was still a secret, and there was no way anyone would discover it while they were gone.  They flew low away from the docks to be sure no one saw them leave and made their way around the outer edge of the city, heading for their destination…

*          *            *

            "Are you going to be all right?" the professor asked, looking over from the table where he was mixing chemicals.  Butch was still lying on the examination table…what was left of his leg was bandaged up, and he seemed like he was starting to relax, finally, not in so much shock anymore.

            "I'll be okay," Butch assured him, forcing some toughness.  "Heh…I can fly, remember?  It's not like I use my legs much anyway…"

            The professor nodded, "Are you still feeling pain?  I can get you something for it…"

            "No…really, I'm fine…" Butch said.  "There's…there's a little bit, but I don't want any painkillers.  I've gotta help Bubbles, and I don't wanna be groggy or anything…"

            "If you insist," the professor said, concerned nonetheless.  He turned his attention back to his chemicals and worked some more…as he did, his face lit up, and he said, "Ah!  Success!"

            "What?" Butch said, leaning a little to one side to try and get a better view.

            The professor turned around, a flask in his hand.  "This isn't Antidote X," he said, "but it's almost as good.  This will react with the Chemical X in their bodies and cause a complete paralysis of all voluntary motor functions.  It's only temporary—probably only lasting for about a minute or so—but it still makes an effective weapon against them.  For lack of a better name, I'll call it Sedative X…"

            "Awesome…" Butch said, sitting up.  "Look, I'd…better get out there.  Bubbles needs my help…gimme some of that stuff, and I'll go find 'em…"

            "You should get more rest, Butch," the professor said, pouring out the Sedative X into several vials.  "You've been through a lot."

            Butch set his teeth and said, "No…every moment I rest, they're getting that much closer to destroying us _all_.  If I can do anything to help, I hafta do it now, before it's too late."

            The professor paused for a moment, thinking about this, then held out a couple of the vials and said, "Please, be extra careful, all right?"

            Butch nodded, "All right," and hovered off the bed, flying over to take the vial from him.  He flinched again as he felt more pain from his leg.

            "You're sure about this?" the professor asked, trying one last time.

            "Yeah…I'll be okay, I swear," Butch told him.  "I'll be back, 'k?"  The professor nodded and watched him as he tucked the vials away and headed out of the lab.  _Such courage,_ he thought, _to face something so difficult.  The strength of Chemical X never ceases to amaze me._

            He turned back to his equipment, working for a few minutes longer.  _There has to be a way to deliver Sedative X more efficiently,_ he thought._  Maybe like some kind of tranquilizer dart…no, perhaps a small metal carrying device that releases it on impact…that way, there's no possible risk of backlash to the user…_

            The door to the lab opened again behind him, and without turning, he said, "Back again, Butch?  Did you forget something?"

            "Professor Utonium," came a voice, and the professor froze, one of the test tubes he was holding dropping out of his hands and crashing to the ground.  Whoever it was, it _wasn't_ Butch…or Bubbles, either.

            He slowly turned around…the other two Rowdyruff Boys were hovering there, each with a sword on their backs, and each giving him a cold stare.  Bubbles was right, it was the same stare he remembered seeing when he faced Blossom and Buttercup on the street the week before.  Only this time, he didn't have his weapon handy…

            "What do you want?" he said, gritting his teeth.  He slowly moved his hand across the table behind him, searching for something to use against them…the rest of the Antidote X was at another table, out of his reach…

            The one in red—'Brick', as Butch had mentioned to him earlier—said, "We need a Phase-Induced Theta Transceiver…and you have one."

            The professor's eyes darted across the room for a moment, falling on the transceiver that he spoke of.  _I'd better not tell them,_ he thought.  _They probably don't know what it is…_  Unfortunately, Boomer followed his gaze and spotted the transceiver, saying, "Ah, that must be it…"

            "Stay away from that," the professor said with as much authority as he could muster.  "I know what you're going to do with it, and I can't allow it."

            "I don't think you have any say in the matter, Professor," Brick told him, hovering forward and drawing his sword.  "In fact…why are we even continuing this conversation?  You're not leaving here alive anyway, so there's no need to explain to you…"

            They would be on him in seconds…the professor knew this was his last chance to do something.  He moved his hand desperately across the table behind him and grabbed one of the beakers, ready to fling its contents at the boys.  Brick spotted him just before he did and dashed forward immediately.

            Outside the Utonium household, there was no one on the streets…but if there was, they would have heard a single loud, bloodcurdling scream come from within…

**_TO BE CONTINUED…_**


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 

            Bubbles finished combing the city.  Wherever the boys were now, they weren't being obvious about it.  Other than the chaos they had already caused, there wasn't a trace of them to be found.  She didn't spot them flying around anywhere, and no new explosions or cries for help arose.  They were laying low.

            She hoped they would slip up…give away their location or something.  She had no idea how much of that device they had left to finish, but it had to be stopped before any more of it was completed.  _Where are you?_ she thought.  _C'mon…fly across the city, use your powers…do something!_

            Behind her, she heard something flying and spun around…she relaxed when she saw it was only Butch.  Despite the loss of blood and his leg, he was flying just as well as he was before.  He called out, "Bubbles!"

            "Butch!" she shouted back.  "You're feeling better, great!"

            Butch flew up next to her and nodded, "Yeah…kick me down, and I keep comin' back.  Listen, the professor made a new formula to help us fight Brick and Boomer."  He pulled out the two vials he had on him to show her.

            Bubbles looked curiously at them and said, "What is it?"

            "It's 'Sedative X', as he called it," Butch answered.  "It's supposed to paralyze them.  I hope it works…"

            "If the professor made it, it'll work," Bubbles said confidently, taking one of the vials.  "Does he have more of it?"

            Butch nodded, "Yeah, a whole beaker of it.  He can probably make more, too."

            "Good…then I want a lot more of it," Bubbles said.  "I wanna make sure I don't run out during a fight."

            "Sounds good," Butch said.  He put his vial away, as did Bubbles, and then asked, "Why are you looking around the skies?"

            "They moved from the observatory," Bubbles told him.  "They know we're tryin' to destroy the device…if only we'd been more careful…"

            Shaking his head, Butch said, "No…it's my fault, I should have just smashed the thing while it was unguarded.  'Stead, I tried to figure out what it did first…"

            "What's done is done," Bubbles said.  "Let's just get back home and get that Sedative X and…"

She suddenly stopped as she saw something below.  Butch was concerned by her reaction and said, "What?  What's wrong?"

            "That…building…" she said, pointing to one of the tall skyscrapers in the city far beneath them, whose rooftop they were near.  "I fought my sister…Blossom…on the roof there.  That was when it all ended the first time.  We killed her…and Buttercup…and then dropped their…their components off…the side…"

            Butch bit his lip slightly and said, "Why did you do that?"

            "Because…we thought there was no way to save them…"  Bubbles teared up slightly at the memory.  "We…we didn't want to get in the way of their death anymore.  We just…had to let go…but if I'd known we'd find a cure, I would've hung onto them…"

            Butch put a hand on her shoulder consolingly and said, "Hey, it's all right…you didn't know…"

            "Maybe…maybe if we look," she said with an odd air of hopefulness that she didn't truly feel, "we can still find them…I mean, they were just…their ingredients were just…dropped…maybe they landed in the street, or…"

            "C'mon, Bubbles," Butch said.  "We have to get back…"  Bubbles realized that Butch was right…there were more important things to worry about right now.  Still, as they began to make their way back home, she was still preoccupied by it.  Now that there was a way to 'cure' them, she wished she had hung onto those components.  To give them the chance to live a normal life once again, and forget about everything that had happened in the past…but it wasn't that easy.  She realized that the past wouldn't matter if they couldn't save everyone _now_, and pushed these thoughts out of her head, focusing on the task at hand…

*          *            *

            They knew something was wrong as they approached the house.  The door had been ripped from its hinges.  Bubbles' heart leapt into her throat the moment she saw this, and in a small voice, she whispered, "…oh please…no…"  She and Butch made their way inside, and just as Bubbles had feared, the door to the lab was similarly broken open.

            "Professor?" Bubbles called out, flying quickly for the door.  She looked inside, but didn't see him anywhere.  She looked frantically across the lab, shouting, "Professor?  Where are you?  _Professor?!_"  Butch poked his head into the lab as well, to see what was going on.

            Bubbles drifted a few more feet towards a table which held some of his chemicals, and froze, gasping in horror.  Though the professor was nowhere near, there was another unmistakable sight on the ground right in front of her…a pool of fresh blood.  Her lip trembled as she struggled to make out words, "…o-oh my god…please, not the professor…_please_…"

            Butch didn't know what to say as he still hovered in the doorway to the lab.  At that moment, though, he heard a sound behind him…he turned, looking into the adjacent kitchen, and saw one of the cupboard doors opening slowly.  Professor Utonium had wedged himself inside…he looked a little shaken, but otherwise unhurt.

            "Bubbles!  He's over here!" Butch called out.

Bubbles blinked away some of the tears that were forming in her eyes and flew over in a flash…upon seeing the professor as he climbed out of the cupboard, her expression when from disbelief to joy.  She tackled him with a hug, nearly knocking him back off his feet in the process, crying out, "Professor!  You're alive!"

            "I'm fine, sweetie," he assured her, "but…I admit it was a close call…"

            "What happened?" she asked, concerned but still relieved.

            His expression became serious as he explained, "The other two Rowdyruff Boys came into my lab, looking for my Phase-Induced Theta Transceiver.  When I refused to give it to them, I knew they were going to try to kill me…Brick drew his sword and approached me.  For a moment, I thought I was finished…"

            "What did you do?" Bubbles exclaimed.

            The professor clenched a fist, miming his actions as he spoke, "I was able to get a hold of the beaker containing Sedative X…Brick charged me when he saw what I was doing, but I threw the whole thing at him just before he reached me.  And it worked!  The moment the liquid splashed across him, he was frozen in place, unable to move a muscle.  The sword was loose in his hand and fell out…I caught it, and did the first thing that I could think of: I drove it into his chest..."

            Butch cringed, but asked, "What about Boomer?"

            "He was momentarily stunned by what happened," the professor continued.  "It gave me an opening to escape, so I ran out from the lab as fast as I could, hiding in the cupboard upstairs.  I could still hear the two of them faintly in the distance.  Boomer wanted to go looking for me, but I heard Brick say, 'No…we have…more important things…to worry about…'  After that, everything was quiet…I'm not sure how long they stayed, but when I thought I heard your voices, I decided it was safe to come out."

            "I'm just glad you're okay," Bubbles said.  "Um…did they take that…whatever it was they were looking for?"

            The professor hurried back into the lab, with Bubbles and Butch right behind him, and when his eyes fell on an empty table off to one side, he hung his head and said, "Yes.  It's gone…"

            "No!" Butch said.  "We've got to find them…but we don't have any idea where they are!  They're not at Mojo's anymore."

            The professor scratched his chin, "You know, come to think of it, I did hear Brick say something else that I thought seemed odd at the time.  Just before his voice faded out entirely, he ordered Boomer to take the device 'back to the warehouse'…"

            Bubbles' face lit up, "The docks!  They have a lot of empty warehouses down there…they must be hiding in one of 'em!  Thanks, Professor!  C'mon, Butch, we gotta go there_ now!_"

            "Right away!" Butch replied as the two of them headed for the lab door.  As he left, he called out, "Make more of that Sedative X, Professor…if we can't find them, we'll need it!"  They flew out from the lab and out of the house in an instant, on their way to Townsville docks…

*          *            *

            There had to be about a dozen empty warehouses near the docks, but one of them grabbed their attention quicker than the other, as its large warehouse doors had been ripped from the hinges.  They hovered in front of the doors and listened…there was no sound at all.  It was dark inside…they could see a few wooden crates piled near the entrance, but nothing else.

            "Think this is the one?" Butch asked, peering carefully inside, trying to see better.

            "Maybe…but it's too quiet," Bubbles said, straining to hear.  Even with her ultrasonic hearing, she didn't hear so much as a pin drop.  "You'd think they'd be working on the device or _something_…"

            Butch shook his head, "Maybe they're off looking for another part already.  If they are, this is our best chance to _smash_ the thing, right?"  Bubbles nodded, and Butch said, "All right, then.  I'll go inside and check…you keep an eye out in case they come back.  Got it?"

            "Got it," Bubbles agreed.  Butch turned and drifted forward into the darkened warehouse slowly, but after only going in a couple of feet, Bubbles said, "Wait…"

            "What?" Butch said, turning back to face her again.  Bubbles flew up to him and leaned forward, planting a small kiss on his cheek.  Butch blinked in surprise, reddening a little, and said, "What was _that_ for?"

            "Just for good luck," Bubbles said, smiling slightly.  "Just come back safely, okay?"

            Butch grinned…then gasped, his eyes flying open in shock.  His gasp choked in his throat, almost like he was being strangled.  Bubbles looked down in horror and screamed…the end of a sword was sticking out through his stomach, covered in blood.  She floated back a few feet, her hands covering her mouth in disbelief.

            Boomer emerged from behind him in the darkness, having obviously slipped out from behind the crates while they were distracted.  He held the sword which had punctured Butch through his back.  With another quick motion, he pulled the sword free, and Butch collapsed immediately to the ground, rolling over onto his back and struggling to breathe.

            "_Butch!!_" Bubbles yelled, "_NO!!_"

            "He'll be dead soon," Boomer said flatly.  "And so will you, along with everyone and everything else in the whole world.  Life is coming to an end…the task is almost complete."

            Bubbles turned to flee, but as she did, Brick zoomed out from a hiding place under one of the docks.  Obviously revived and well once again, he blocked her off before she could get away.  She quickly pulled her sword from her back, and Brick responded by drawing his own.  "There is no escape, Bubbles," Brick informed her.  "Your life ends here.  There's no need for you to resist…drop your sword, and give in to the calm of Death…"

            Butch lifted his head up slightly from the ground and wheezed in protest, "…no…Bubbles, don't…let them…"

Boomer interrupted him with a quick slash from his sword, slicing into his abdomen and ripping it open…Butch wailed loudly, an agonizing cry that seemed to cut right through Bubbles' heart when she heard it.  "_Stop it!!_" she howled, in tears.

"Listen to it, Bubbles," Brick told her.  "That's suffering you hear.  That's pain.  _That's_ what life brings…without it, there _is_ no pain, there _is _no suffering.  Only peace.  The comforting nothingness of Death…"

Bubbles couldn't take her eyes off of Butch as his cries grew softer, and finally, with a last kick of his remaining leg, his head rolled to the side, lying still.  His gaze seemed to be fixed on her, a dead stare…somewhere, part of Bubbles thought, _He's at peace…they're right, he's free from life…it can torment him no longe—_…

            "No!" she shouted, shaking her head to clear it.  "No, life is good!  And _you're_ the evil ones!  If you're so sure that Death is the answer, then…"  She dashed forward, towards Boomer, with her sword at the ready, "…_die!_"

            Boomer raised his sword and easily blocked Bubbles' swing, pushing her sword to the side.  She was staggered by the move, but threw herself to the ground immediately to avoid Boomer's own swing, which passed by closely over her head.  She only had a moment to notice that Brick was approaching as well, and rolled to the side…Brick's sword missed, striking the ground instead.

            Bubbles kicked off from the ground and shot into the air.  Brick was about to follow, when Butch's body suddenly began to glow, as it broke down into its base elements.  He was momentarily distracted by it out of the corner of his eye, and Bubbles responded by firing a quick blast of her eyebeams.  They struck Brick, knocking him to the ground and causing him to slide into the dark warehouse.

            Looking down at the spot where Butch used to be, Bubbles thought, _I can still bring his components back to the professor…Butch is still okay, I just gotta win this fight, and…_

            Boomer followed her gaze and must have figured out what she was thinking, because he said, "Not this time."  Before she could respond, his eyebeams powered up quickly and blasted down at the components…Bubbles watched in alarm as the components were vaporized, right before her eyes.  Now it was final, the horrifying truth dawning on her: Butch was gone, this time for good…

            Bubbles couldn't take it anymore…she shrieked at the top of her lungs.  The powerful sonic waves caused the entire dock to tremble, and Boomer was knocked down by the intensity of it.  In anger, Bubbles soared down from the air towards him, pulling out her vial of Sedative X with her free hand.  Boomer spotted her approach and raised his sword defensively.  Crying out loudly, Bubbles swung her sword…Boomer knocked it aside as he had done before, but Bubbles was prepared for it, splashing some of the Sedative X over him the instant he did.

Boomer's teeth clenched, as his entire body locked up, unable to move.  Her voice filled with rage, she shouted, "This is for _Butch!_" and took another swing at him, now that he was completely unprotected.  With one powerful blow, she slashed him in two across his chest.  He fell into two separate pools of blood…some of the blood had splattered onto Bubbles, but she didn't care.  All she cared was that they paid for what they did to Butch.

            She started to tuck away the vial holding the rest of the Sedative X when an eyebeam blast shot from out of the darkness of the warehouse.  The blasts hit the vial, causing it to shatter, coating her hand in the chemical.  She yelped in surprise, her sword dropping from her other hand, but that was as much movement as she had time to take.  A cold, electrical feeling swept up from the hand, covering her entire body and locking her into place, like a statue, still hovering where she was.

            Brick emerged from the warehouse, flowing slowly over to her.  Bubbles tried desperately to move, but it did no good…the chemical did its work all too well.  Brick paused just for a moment to stare down at the two halves of Boomer, which had begun to glow until they finally broke back down into the components.  He then approached Bubbles again.

            _Oh no oh no oh god please no don't kill me_, she thought, watching helplessly as he stopped in front of her.  He leaned down and picked up her sword, lifting it and the one he already had up into a ready position.  "I'll have you know," he said, still unsmiling, "that the device is very nearly complete.  We only need to charge the power cells from the city power, and it will all be over."

            He leaned forward, coming face to face with Bubbles, and said, "That shouldn't matter to you, though…because you won't be alive to see it used anyway."  Bubbles tried continuously to move, but she couldn't budge, not even so much as bat an eyelid.  _When will it wear off?_ she thought.    _When?!  Please wear off, please please please please…_

            Brick slowly pulled both of his swords back, and Bubbles panicked…_It's not wearing off!  Oh god…I'm dead…nothing I can do…I'm gonna die…_She wanted to close her eyes so that she wouldn't have to see it, but they would not close.  She'd knew have to watch the whole thing…every terrifying moment of it.  She knew it was over as soon as she saw his swords start to swing towards her…

            But in that moment, luck seemed to smile on her one more time.  Sedative X ran its course, and almost quicker than it had taken effect, the paralysis was gone.  Every muscle had been straining to move, so when it wore off, she flew back immediately.  The swords missed her by a mere few inches.  Realizing that she not only was still alive, but was free as well, Bubbles took off without a second thought.

            Brick was surprised when she flew off and frowned, but he didn't care.  Even if she had gone off to make more preparations to combat him, he knew she wouldn't be back for a while, and a little time was all he needed.  He carefully scooped Boomer's components up from the ground and rushed back into the warehouse to revive him, so that they could carry out the final steps of the plan together…

*          *            *

            Bubbles didn't stop flying until she was well within the city.  Everything had happened too fast…Butch, the only support she had through all of this, was dead.  She had no weapons left to fight them with…the professor's weapon was destroyed, her swords were all in the Rowdyruff's hands, there was no Sedative X left…all they had was a few doses of Antidote X back at the lab, and that wouldn't be good enough.

            _I need help, not just another weapon,_ she thought.  She paused to catch her breath, and tears started flowing from her eyes.  _Butch, you tried your best…why did you have to die?  I can't do this alone…I just can't…_

            She glanced up and realized where she was: at the base of the building again.  _The _building, the one where her final fight with Blossom took place.  Feverishly, she thought, _This is the direction the wind blows…maybe, maybe I can find them…yes, they've got to be somewhere, they can't just disappear…_

            She forgot all about the boys for a moment and started searching the area in desperation.  Part of her knew she wouldn't find anything, but another part of her insisted that she had to try.  It was a week later, and logic told her that even if their ingredients _had_ landed on the ground, they would have blown away long ago, but she didn't care…she searched just the same.

            In a flurry, she dashed down street after street, alley after ally, all downwind of the tower.  Inevitably, it began to dawn on her that it was foolish to keep looking.  She paused at the entrance of yet another alley and thought, _Maybe this is it, this could be the one…just one more alley…_

            Her mind forced reason upon her, though.  _They're GONE!_  _Nothing you can do will ever bring them back…they're gone for good!  It's a waste of time to keep looking; you've got to find a way to stop the Rowdyruff Boys before they kill us all!  _She lowered her eyes, sniffing sadly and trying to see clearly through her tears.  Even after all this time, she still couldn't just give them up.  And now that she needed them more than ever, she had to accept their loss again…

            She raised her head and was just about to fly away, when she saw something in front of her.  For a second, she thought it was something in the alley, amongst the trash in the corner.  She wiped the tears from her eyes to see more clearly, and realized it wasn't a mirage, yet she could barely believe her eyes, even as she flew closer to confirm the impossible.

            Various debris and junk had collected in that corner, but that wasn't all.  She recognized the shapes that had collected there…the objects that constituted what the professor referred to as 'everything nice'.  Each separate object was unique, and even recognizable…Bubbles knew in an instant that they belonged to Buttercup.

            She kneeled down next to it and sifted through the corner.  It was unbelievable.  Somehow, the wind had blown the components here, where they were trapped against this corner.  With a sudden burst of happiness, she laughed, scooping up everything she could into her arms.

There was no doubt about it; they were Buttercup's ingredients all right, the same ones she had kissed and released herself.  Some of it was missing—some of the spice, and almost all the sugar—but it was all right.  _So she won't come out as sweet or as tough, _she figured.  _As long as she's back to life, it doesn't matter…she can still help me!  I won't be alone again… _Cradling the components in her arms carefully, she headed straight for home…

*          *            *

            The professor wasn't in his lab when she got there.  She was afraid for a moment until she spotted a note on the table, which read, 'Went into town, getting last part of a weapon to use against the Rowdyruffs.  I'll be back ASAP.  Love, Prof.'  She smiled to herself…the professor always had a backup plan of some sort.  Anyway, she didn't need him here; she already knew how to revive Buttercup by herself, and headed over to the table which held the professor's mixing bowl.

            She quickly loaded the components into the bowl.  _This'll work, it's _got_ to work!_ she thought.  She looked across the table and picked up two vials.  One was filled with Chemical X, the other with Antidote X.  She knew they were both of the final ingredients to make this work.

Taking a deep breath, she dropped a few drops of Chemical X into the bowl and replaced the vial on the shelf.  She quickly hovered back to a safe distance, clutching the vial of Antidote X.  _As soon as I see her,_ she thought, _I need to splash this on her…turn her back to normal.  Then, I'll have her back!  Buttercup will be back…_

A moment later, the mixture exploded, just as always.  Bubbles was used to seeing it by now, so it no longer surprised her.  However, nothing could prepare her for what she saw after that.  The vial of Antidote X dropped from her hands, crashing to the ground, as she felt herself let out a horrified scream.

            Buttercup was hovering there…part of her, anyway.  As her ingredients were incomplete, so was she.  Half of her was missing…but it wasn't just a simple half, like only the neck up, or the left or right side.  Most of her skin was gone, safe for a few patches here and there.  Her left leg was completely missing, and part of her arm was gone as well.  There were also holes in the muscle underneath, revealing several exposed organs.  Her heart was only half there, and one of her lungs had huge gaps in it.  Part of her brain was visible through the side of her skull, and one of her eyes was missing, leaving only an empty socket.

            Blood poured out from all the open "wounds," spilling to the floor.  With a strange groaning screech, Buttercup fell from the air where she had been hovering, landing on the floor of the lab with a wet *_splotch_* sound.  Bubbles flew back instinctively, stopping with her back against the wall…she shrieked, "_Oh_ _god!!_"

            Struggling to lift her head from the pool of blood that was collecting around her, Buttercup managed to stare up at Bubbles with her good eye.  She strained to pull in a breath with her one functioning lung, and with a pleading look in her face, she wheezed softly, "…kill…me…" 

            She knew she had to do it…gathering what was left of her resolve, she focused, and fired her eyebeams at the horrible…_thing_ that was once Buttercup.  The beams sliced through her, creating a brief shower of blood as she exploded outwards from the force of it.  Within seconds, the pieces of her that were now strewn across the lab each begin to each glow, and in several small flashes of light, they vanished, replaced by tiny piles of the components.  All that remained now was the blood, covering the ground and some of the equipment in the lab.

            Bubbles sank down the wall, landing on the ground, and curled her legs up against her, clutching them to her chest and shaking uncontrollably.  She remembered what the professor had said to her…it seemed so long ago, yet she knew it wasn't…

_'It was wrong of me to bring them back to life. I know that now. All it's done is bring about anguish and sorrow.'_

            '_S__ometimes, Bubbles, it's better just to let go. Let them return to their eternal rest. We have no right to deny them that.'_

            Bubbles clenched her eyes shut, as tears escaped from them.  The professor was right…but she didn't listen, and because of it, Buttercup had to suffer.  She knew it was all her fault that she had to go through all that, yanked from her rest just for more torment.  It all began to finally dawn on her…

            _You see?_ came a small voice inside of her…_You brought about more suffering, because you wanted life to continue…_

_            Life is suffering…_

_            Suffering must end…_

_            You must put an end to it…_

            This was finally more than Bubbles could take.  She flew out of the lab, screaming in a frenzy.  Against what she knew were impossible odds, she made a beeline straight for the docks.  One way or another, it would end.  She wouldn't back down this time, even if they overpowered her.  _Weapon or no weapon,_ she thought, _I've gotta take them down.  I gotta do it now…I can't be afraid…I've gotta stop them, even if it kills me…_

**_TO BE CONTINUED…_**


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 

            Bubbles crossed the skies above Townsville quickly, but not so quickly that she didn't notice all the people that were up and about at this time of night.  The emergency crews were still helping people.  _Why?_ she wondered.  _Why are they trying to protect life?  It's hopeless…they're all hopeless.  Life should be destroyed; life should never even have been created…_  Her mind was awhirl with emotions and feelings that seemed to bombard her as surely as if she were being attacked by a physical foe.

            _Get a hold of yourself, Bubbles!_ she told herself.  _You've got to save everyone!_

            _You don't have to save anything…you don't have to do anything at all but watch…_

_            Never!  They're people!  They're living creatures, and they're suffering…they're dying…_

_            LET THEM DIE!_

Bubbles came to a stop and held the sides of her head.  _NO, I'll never stop trying to save them!  They're the world; if I let them die…_

_            If you let them die, the world will forever be at peace…_

_I can't just stand by and do nothing!_

_Then do something…_help_ put an end to life.  It's easy, so much easier than it is to create it.  Think of it…no more suffering…life is suffering, Bubbles…_

            _No, life is good!  LIFE IS GOOD!  And nothing will change that!  Nothing at all!_

_            Do you truly believe that?  Look at the people below…all you see down there is turmoil and pain.  You can relieve them of that pain, and you know it…_

            Bubbles looked down at the people, and for a moment, she actually contemplated it.  It seemed so easy, to just fly down and help them.  To put an end to them with her bare hands.  To crush the life from them, removing it from their bodies like the poison it is…

            She felt herself starting to drift down for about a foot and froze in terror.  _What am I doing?!_ she thought.  _No!  Life has to survive!  There's too much good that it brings…love, joy, expression…I can't let them just disappear forever!  Life does contain suffering, but it makes up part of who we are, and we can't just remove all of life just to avoid it…it's not worth the loss!  Life is, always was, and always will be good!  And that's final!!_

            When Bubbles came to this conclusion, it was as though a giant veil had been lifted from her eyes.  Life was _indeed_ good, and it needed her help now more than ever.  She was filled with confidence…but also with fear, because if she didn't act soon, it wouldn't matter anyway.  Gathering her strength, she resumed her journey back to the warehouse, now completely sure of her goals.

            As she approached the warehouse, she wondered for a moment if she might be too late.  There was nothing there when she checked inside…not the boys, not the machine, not even any bowl or chemicals as they undoubtedly also had.  It was though they had just packed up and left again.

            She felt rising fear…the time it took to find their new location might be too late.  They could be anywhere in the city, and unless she got lucky, she knew there was no way to find them in time.   Not even flying as fast as her powers would allow…

            _Power,_ she thought, slowly recalling something that one of the boys said.  _Power…they said that they had to charge up the machine from city power.  It must be…the power plant, of course!_  Without a moment to spare, she left the docks and flew off towards what she hoped would be the last place they would run to…

*          *            *

            The professor had driven down to the one of the research facilities that he often visited when he needed to borrow scientific equipment that he didn't already possess.  He found it difficult to get close, however, because emergency personnel had barricaded it off.  No doubt the Rowdyruffs had already visited.

            He obtained permission to enter from the police that were present at the site.  They were more than willing to let him through if it meant helping out, although they cautioned him that it wasn't a pretty sight inside.  The professor didn't mind…he had seen worse.

            Going inside, he headed straight for the lab that held the final piece of the weapon he carried with him.  _There must be a magnetic guidance array in here somewhere,_ he thought…_I remember seeing one before, when I was here last._  He traveled down the hallway and opened the door to the main lab.

            It was a mess…several scientists lay dead around the lab, some of whom the professor recognized and respected.  Stepping over them, he tried to ignore the images around him and focused on locating the hardware he needed.  _They may be beyond help,_ he thought, _but as long as there's still a chance to save everyone else, I have to take it._

            He located the equipment he sought for on one of the tables.  Picking the small metal disk that made up the guidance array, he set down the weapon and got to work fixing the component into place.  It was a modified launcher with a rotating stock of barrels, each holding a separate canister, resembling something used to launch tear gas.  It was now complete, and he slung the weapon back over his shoulder.

            The lights flickered a few times, and the professor blinked in confusion.  For a moment he thought that perhaps the electrical wiring was bad, but then he realized that the flicker wasn't consistent with that.  It was more the kind that came when there were fluctuations in the source of the power, maybe an enormous load being thrown somewhere else, or…

            The professor suddenly recalled the device that the Rowdyruffs were building.  _Something with the capability of sending a wave capable of disrupting intracellular energy on a global scale wouldn't require a tremendous amount of power, but it would still require more than what one could obtain just by plugging it into the wall…they'd need a richer energy source.  They're probably charging it up…maybe even from the power plant directly, since it'd be the easiest way.  That also means…that also means they're almost ready to use it!_

            He hastily made his way back out of the building.  _Perhaps I can still get there in time,_ he thought_…it's not far from here…I've got to hurry!_  Once outside, he immediately got into his car and started driving towards the power plant.  Luckily, the roads were still mostly empty, since it was still the middle of the night.  He only hoped he would make it before it's too late…

*          *            *

            The generators hummed as they fed power to the device that had been attached to them.  Now completed, the enormous round sphere that made up the center of the device glowed softly from the energy it collected and steadily grew brighter with each passing minute.  Boomer watched it carefully…the power would build until it reached its maximum level, and then all it would take was a mere pull of the lever to accomplish their goal.  He waited, ready to activate it the moment this happened.

            Brick held both of his bloodstained swords out in front of him, in a ready position.  He would not let his guard falter, now that they were so close.  Just a while longer was all he needed to wait.  He glanced around coldly at the workers in the power plant—some had foolishly tried to stop them, and some had tried to escape to warn others—but either way, it didn't matter.  They were dead, one and all, just the same.

            "How much longer?" he asked, returning his gaze to watch the hole they had blasted through the wall in order to get in.

            Boomer checked the gauge, and reported, "It's coming slowly.  Maybe a few more minutes…"

            It was a few minutes that weren't about to be given to them, however, because at that instant, Bubbles crashed in through the roof unexpectedly.  Brick had been so sure that she would try to come in through the same entrance that they had used, that he had let down his guard.  As he turned towards the sound, Bubbles descended directly towards him…she clung to a piece of the roof she had just burst through, and threw it as hard as she could.  It slammed into brick, driving him into the ground.

            Boomer looked over in surprise and immediately started to draw his sword.  Bubbles' eyes darted around quickly, and she saw both Boomer and the device.  Gritting her teeth, she powered up her eyebeams, preparing to blast the device into a million pieces…

            "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Boomer called out.  Bubbles hesitated just long enough for him to continue.  "Right now, its power is building up and focusing, almost like a bomb…if you were to just blast it, the explosion would probably destroy all of Townsville.  Do you really want that?"

            Bubbles stopped before firing her eyebeams and let them power back down.  "No," she said vehemently, "but you're not gonna use that thing!  I'll just shut it down…"

            The rubble that had piled on top of Brick shifted, and Brick climbed out of it, saying, "You'll have to get by us first.  But you don't have any kind of weapons…how can you possibly expect to win?"

            "I've got all the weapons I need right here," Bubbles replied, shaking her fists.

            Boomer was about to move, and Brick waved one of his swords, "No, let me handle this.  I'll kill her myself."  He raised both of his swords and flew for her.  Bubbles' expression grew determined, not showing the slightest sign of fear…only anger.  She stood her ground as Brick approached, thinking, _This is it!_

            Brick took two swings at Bubbles, one with each of his swords.  Bubbles ducked under the first one and hovered back quickly to avoid the seconds.  Brick continued his advance, thrusting the point of one of the blades forward…Bubbles flew _towards_ him, leaning to one side so that the blade passed harmlessly by her side, and landed a punch to his jaw.  Brick was knocked back a few feet from the blow, and Bubbles immediately flew forward again, on the offense.

            Brick swung both swords at the same time, coming in from the sides towards Bubbles, but she thrust her arms forward quickly, grabbing both of Brick's arms and stopping the swings.  Brick struggled to push the blades further…Bubbles held them back the best she could, but it was taking all of her effort.  She clenched her teeth, doing her best just to hold him at bay.

            Finally, she swung her body around, bringing both of her feet up, and kicked him in the chin.  He grunted from the blow, and his push slackened.  She didn't let go of his arms, though, and promptly swung him around in a circle, throwing him into the nearest wall.

            Brick recovered and shook it off angrily, then punched his hand into the wall he was up against, pulling a chunk of metal from it.  He hurled it at Bubbles as hard as he could as a surprise move.  It clipped her in the head, and although it didn't hurt her, she flinched, and that was all Brick needed.  He shot forward, clasping both of his swords flat against each other and swinging them both at once.

            Distracted by the chunk of metal, Bubbles spotted Brick approaching almost too late, and tried to dodge back, but the very tips of his blades grazed her cheek, cutting a pair of scratches across it.  Bubbles yelped and fell back, clasping her hand over the wound.  _It's not bad_, she told herself…_just ignore it and keep fighting!_

            Brick followed it up with another swing, but Bubbles dashed away quickly, towards the wall behind her.  When she hit it, she kicked off from it, changing directions back towards him instantly.  She charged him shoulder-first…he saw it coming and had just enough time to slip to one side, out of the way.  He tried to slash her as she passed, but she was moving too fast…she stuck out her foot, kicking the sword from his hand before it could hit her.

            Bubbles spun around to face him again, and as she did, she watched the sword she kicked away spin through the air.  With alarm, she noticed it was heading straight for the machine.  _Oh no,_ she thought…_what if it hits something wrong and causes it to explode?!_  She cringed as the sword struck the machine…but thankfully, it lodged hilt-first in the side, the blade sticking out safely away from the energy core.  She gave a brief sigh of relief.

Brick gripped his remaining sword with both hands and said, "You're fast, but you can't hurt me.  And you're still unarmed.  Face it, Bubbles…you will die, and there's no way you can stop us…"

            "But I can…" came a voice.  Everyone, including Boomer, looked over at the sound of the new voice.  Professor Utonium had just entered the generator room from the set of doors down below.  He was holding his weapon, aimed directly at Brick, and Bubbles backed a further distance away from him just in case.

            Brick frowned and was about to fire his eyebeams at him, when the professor fired.  A small metallic canister with four claw-like arms shot out of the weapon, and it was heading straight for Brick.  He made a *_hmmph_* sound, and easily moved aside before the canister was even halfway to him.

He was about to make a comment about relying on a weapon that fired so slowly, when the canister did an odd thing: it changed directions, heading for his new position.  This took him by surprise…he tried to duck, but the canister ended up striking him in the forehead.  It immediately latched itself on with the claws, and Brick tensed up.  He didn't move a muscle, but just hovered there, frozen.

            While the others stared, surprised, the professor shouted, "I injected him with Sedative X…hurry, Bubbles, while he's paralyzed!"  Bubbles took the cue and flew over to Brick…Boomer started to fly up as well, but stopped when he realized that she was going to make it there long before he did anyway.  Prying the sword from Brick's hands, Bubbles gave him a quick slash to the neck with it.  His head and body fell from the air, landing on the ground far below.

            The professor nodded grimly and swung the weapon around, facing it towards the last remaining Rowdyruff.  Boomer grasped his sword defensively as the barrels on the professor's weapon rotated to the next slot, loading another canister into place.  He launched the guided projectile towards him, but as it approached, Boomer expertly swung his sword, slashing it in two out of the air.

            Quickly, the professor started firing more canisters, one after another.  Boomer moved quickly from side to side, slashing each one as it approached…not a single one got close enough to him to strike.  "Bubbles!" the professor called.  "This isn't going to work…you'd better attack him!"

            "Right!" Bubbles called out, diving towards Boomer with her sword at the ready.  He raised his own sword up to block…the two blades struck each other, giving off a brief flash of blue sparks as they struck.  The two immediately began swinging blow after blow at each other, their blades clashing on each attack.  The sparks continued to fly from the blades, illuminating the metal surroundings in flickers of blue light.

            Boomer was quicker than she was, though…his swings kept coming faster and faster, until Bubbles had to stop making her own swings and focused just on defending herself against the barrage of attacks.  She flew further back and higher to gain some distance, but he didn't let up.

            She finally thought she saw an opening, and took it, thrusting her sword forward at his chest.  He leaned to one side, the blade passing near his head but missing, and swung upward with his own sword…his swing struck Bubbles on the arm, drawing blood.  She cried out, and her sword fell out of her grasp, falling towards the ground below, as she clutched the wound in pain.

Boomer held the sword out, pointing it at her throat, and Bubbles froze in fear.  The professor stood by helplessly…his weapon was out of ammunition, and he could do nothing but watch.  "Too bad," Boomer said.  "Now, you won't be alive to witness the death of the world…"

Before Bubbles could protest, a humming sound came from the device below.  Boomer looked out of the corner of his eye at it, and added, "…or maybe you will.  The device is at full power now…a simple pull of the lever, and life will be forever terminated.  Farewell…"  He backed up a foot or so, then turned and started flying towards the device.

Bubbles knew that if he reached it, it would mean the end of everything.  She took off after him, although she had no idea what she could do.  _If only I still had my sword,_ she thought furiously, _but I don't have time to get it!  No…no!  I can't let him reach it!  I've got to do something!_  She fired a blast from her eyebeams…they struck him in the back, but Boomer clenched his teeth, bearing the brunt of the blast, unfazed.  His full focus was on reaching the device.

            "NO!" Bubbles screamed, and all seemed lost…then she spotted Brick's other sword, the one she had knocked from his hand, still lodged hilt-first into the machine.  This was her one chance…she saw an opportunity to end it, but she also knew what would happen to her.  She didn't care, though…this was far more important than anything else.  Summoning up the last of her courage, she dashed forward as fast as she possibly could, with barely a second to spare.

            Yelling at the top of her lungs, "_YAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"_, she reached Boomer, slamming into his back and grabbing hold, pushing him towards the device faster.  He didn't have time to struggle…in an instant, they reached the sword, and in the next, there was a loud *_chlunk_* as Boomer was impaled upon it…but since she was right behind him, so was Bubbles.  The sword stuck straight through Boomer's chest, emerging out from Bubbles' back…both of them cried out in pain from the fatal wound…

            "Bubbles!" the professor shouted, dropping his empty weapon and making his way over as fast as he could.  Bubbles struggled to free herself from the sword but couldn't.  The professor reached her and carefully slid her off from the end…Bubbles gave another groan of pain when he did this, and he set her down carefully on the ground, a pool of blood slowly building around her from her back.  Boomer, in the meantime, gave a few final kicks, then fell limp.

            Bubbles gasped for air, looking up at the professor, "Is…is he…"

            "Yes, sweetie," he told her, fighting to keep his tears under control.  "You saved us all.  You did it…"

            Bubbles managed a smile, and said, "Good…Professor, I-I…"

            "Don't worry, I'll…"  The professor's voice faltered a little.  "I'll…get you to a doctor…and…and…"

            "S'ok, Professor…" she whispered, her smile actually growing a little wider, "Everyone's safe at last…everyone's…s-safe…"  Her voice faded until he couldn't hear it anymore.  She took a final breath, and no further breaths came…the Professor knew it was over, and gently closed her eyes.  Barely a few seconds later, her body glowed brightly, and broke down into its base ingredients; sugar, spice, and everything nice.

            Wiping a tear from his eye, he looked back at the machine.  _Yes,_ he thought.  _You saved us, Bubbles…I only wish you didn't have to die also.  You were strong throughout all of this, and you deserved to live, probably more than any of us…a heart so pure as to make a sacrifice to save the rest of the world…_

            He looked to the side and noticed that the Rowdyruffs had brought everything with them here from their hideout…even the chemicals and equipment.  On top of a smaller bank of machines, he saw the mixing bowl, and the unmistakable vials of Chemical X next to it.  He looked back down at Bubbles' components again.

            _No, I won't let her die,_ he thought.  _She was able to see the good in life…I can bring her back safely!_  He quickly gathered up her components and walked over to the machine that the chemicals were sitting on.  He put them carefully into the bowl and mixed them together.  As he did, he picked up the vial of Chemical X, examining it carefully.  _It's amazing,_ he thought,_ that this chemical was not only the cause of all this trouble, but also its salvation.  If only Mojo hadn't killed Blossom, this might have never happened…if only he hadn't resurrected the Rowdyruff Boys from their ingred—…_

            He suddenly trailed off, just as he was beginning to tilt the contents of the vial towards the bowl.  _Wait a minute…Rowdyruff ingredients…Boomer should have broken down by now, but…he hasn't…so that means…_  He turned suddenly to look at the device where Boomer was impaled.  He was still on the sword, but he was moving…one hand reached slowly and weakly towards the lever, tugging on it.

The professor dropped the vial, which crashed into the bowl, and bolted for the device…too late.  The switch was pulled, and instantly, a bubble-like wave blasted forth from it.  Like a tremor, the foundations of the building were shaken, and as the wave passed through the professor, he didn't even have time to cry out…he just collapsed on the spot.  Boomer had also stopped moving, now that the wave had passed through him as well.  With his intracellular energy disrupted, his cells even lacked the power to break back down into their base elements.

            Outside the power plant, the wave spread outward, building in speed until it was crossing miles in a mere second.  Every living thing it touched fell lifeless, be it plant, or animal, or even single-celled life.  People all over never even knew what hit them…they just crumpled to the ground where they stood.  But the tremors from the wave also kicked in…buildings collapsed, and other smaller structures were shaken to pieces, and even many electrical devices were shorted out by the sheer intensity of the energy.  In less than a minute, the wave had crossed the entire globe, and finally faded out.  And in that moment, a silence seemed to hang in the air, a silence unlike anything heard on Earth before…a silence that was still unheard, as no one was left to do so…

*          *            *

            The silence outside was broken by an explosion…the Chemical X had leaked from the vial in the bowl and reacted with Bubbles' ingredients, and in the next moment, she was reborn once again.  She hovered above the bowl, blinking and trying to remember who she was, or where she was.

It didn't take long, only a few seconds.  She cringed as the memory of being impaled upon the sword returned to her, as did her other memories before and after that.  Still, she remembered the conclusions about life she had reached, and was happy it had been returned to her, instead of despairing at the futility of life as she had felt before.

            _The professor must have brought me back,_ she thought.  _Great!  But where…is he…_  Her thoughts trailed off as she suddenly saw him, and she gasped.  He was lying crumpled up on the ground, and wasn't moving.  In a flash of light, she darted to his side and shook him gently, then with more force, "Professor?  _Professor?!_"

            There was no response.  She rolled him over onto his back, and saw the cold, lifeless expression on his, locked in an expression of shock.  Tears filled her eyes, and she said, "N-no!  No, what happened?!"  She glanced around feverishly, trying to find what the source of his death might have been, and her eyes fell on the machine…Boomer was still impaled up on the sword, and his hand was still grasping the lever…

            She fell silent in utter disbelief, for what was probably a few minutes.  She finally spoke, in a small voice, "No…he didn't…dear god, no…"  Without another word, she flew up from the ground and through the hole in the roof of the power plant that she had made, to get a better look at the outside.

            The power lines coming from the plant had been shaken down, and as a result, there were no lights visible in Townsville.  If it weren't for the light of the full moon above, she wouldn't have been able to see much of anything.  But what she did see filled her with dread…Townsville was barely a ghost of itself.  Skyscrapers were knocked over, buildings were reduced to rubble, and worse, she saw no movement, no signs of life anywhere…

            "No…" she said, not wanting to believe it.  She flew into the city, as fast as she could…as she flew over the streets, she could see scattered people lying on the ground, in a similar state as the professor had been.  She saw birds that had fallen from trees…stray cats and dogs in alleys…all of them were dead, every living thing.

            As Bubbles stopped above the center of the city, trembling, the horror of what had happened fully dawned on her, and she shrieked, "_NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"_  In a frenzy, she dashed from building to building, looking for people, hoping that maybe she was wrong, but everything she saw only confirmed the awful truth.  "No!" she cried, continuing her search, even though she knew it was hopeless, "No no no no!  Oh god, oh _god!!_  Not everyone!_  Please, not everyone!!_"

Her search was fruitless…she finally ended up in Townsville Park, descending wearily and landing on the ground, falling to her knees.  She grasped clumps of grass from the ground lifting it up.  Even the grass felt cold in her hands, devoid of life.  As she looked at the grass, tears filled her eyes again.

            She released it, and it drifted down, back to the earth, joined a moment later by her falling tears.  "No…no…no…" she repeated, over and over like a mantra until she finally fell face-first into the ground, continuing to weep.  _Th-they're all dead_, she thought.  _I'm the…the o-only one left alive…billions of people…trillions of animals…everything…g-gone…_

            Bubbles didn't know what to do.  What_ could_ she do?  All of her efforts had been in vain…there was nothing left for her now.  Nothing, except to live out the rest of her life alone…more alone than anyone could possibly be.  _No, I can't,_ she thought.  _There's no reason for it…no purpose…what good can I do?  I should just end it now.  They've won anyway…life is destroyed.  What's one more?  What good can one life do?_

            She lifted up her head, eyes still filled with tears, and something caught her eye in the moonlight.  She thought at first that it was nothing—just a row of dead flowers planted in the park nearby—but then she saw something unusual.  She wiped the tears from her eyes and flew over to get a closer look.

            Amongst the dead, droopy flowers in the flowerbed was a single flower.  It was in bloom, and its petals and leaves were still held high.  She didn't know what kind of flower it was, but its petals were a brilliant white.  She carefully reached down and touched it…the feel of it was different, and she knew that in some way, somehow, it was alive.

            _Maybe it was immune_, she thought, _or maybe something else…but it's alive!_  Despite all the death that surrounded her, she smiled, tears of joy falling from her eyes.  It was just one flower, but it was something else alive.  Something that could grow and prosper.  Perhaps one day, in hundreds of years, it could grown and evolve, and spread across the rest of the world…bring life back to the planet once again.

            This small, delicate white flower was like a ray of hope.  Bubbles knew what to do, now.  If this flower was life's last chance, then it was up to her to make sure it survived.  She needed to nurture it, protect it from the elements, and see that it would flourish.  It wasn't much, but it gave her a sense of purpose.

            Bubbles sat down in front of the flower.  She was its new guardian now.  She said aloud, "It's just you and me now.  Time for us to save the world…"  She smiled…life would be a difficult and lonely journey from this point forth, but at least it would prevail…

**_THE END_**


End file.
